Misplaced in Space
by Necia Celesti
Summary: The first fic I ever have, possibly will, write. Yes, I'm updating again. Mwahahah. Beware. The story of five Earth-born teenagers lost in space and swept into a war. Slight AU, cursing, violence, undergarments. (Tee. :O)
1. Escape Pods and Snakeskin Bags

b**DISCLAIMER**/b  
  
I don't own Gundam Wing, sadly. I don't own the G-boys. I don't own the G-Boys' gundams. I own myself. Kryss, Ashley, Anna, and Nick own themselves. Woop. XD Now, I give you...Misplaced in Space!  
  
bMisplaced in Space - Chapter One; Escape Pods and Snakeskin Bags/b  
  
Nicole sat back happily on the beast of a couch in her living room, picking up the television remote. She began idly flipping through channels until she finally came to her desired station; Cartoon Network. Ah. Gundam Wing was on. "Anime makes the world go 'round..." she sighed happily.   
  
Just as that day's episode began to get exciting, the picture turned blue, and a man in an ugly suit with a hideous polka-dotted tie tied lazily around the starched collar of his shirt appeared on screen. He rifled through papers nervously, beads of sweat on his forehead sparkling in the searing hot lights around him. Nicole sighed, grumbling about the undesired interruption, listening half-heartedly to the message.   
  
"This has just been received from national geologists. The continent of North America is beginning to shift and crumble beneath us right now as we speak. We have approximately two months before the crust beneath us will crumble into the sea beneath us.   
  
"The president of the United States has decided to release information that has been kept confidential from the American people, as in this case, we lack space on this rather small planet to ship the people of North America."   
  
"N.A.S.A has built numerous spaceships for a case where the people of Earth would need to relocate from our home planet. As our planet lacks enough space for our people to live on a different continent, it has been decided that the people of North America will all be split up into thirty separate groups and board the ship they are assigned. Each group will hold approximately three million people. Ship assignments will be sporadically e-mailed to persons on the World Wide Web, posted at local supermarkets, schools, and city halls. For now, that's all. Updates will be reported when new information is reported. Thank you, that's all."   
  
An annoying, computerized, feminine voice squeaked out, "And we now return to your regularly scheduled programming."   
Silence stirred through the living room. One could literally hear the air circulating in the room as Nicole sat, staring at the television screen, where the credits for Gundam were rolling. Her eyes had bugged out of her head in an unnatural-looking way, an expression of 'huh?' plastered to her face.   
  
"...MOOOOOM!" she suddenly called in a strangled, high-pitched voice, "DID YOU JUST SEE THE MESSAGE ON T.V?"   
  
"YES," her mother called back in a similar tone.  
  
"...I'M CHECKING MY E-MAIL!!!!!!!" Nicole shrieked, leaping off the couch and into her computer chair. The chair tipped and fell, causing her face to smash into the floor. "Ow..." she mumbled, rubbing her face, righting herself and the chair.   
  
After rapid mouse clicking and typing in of screen-names and passwords, Nicole had reached her Internet destination; her inbox on hotmail. And behold, there in her inbox sat a message from the government. In the subject line were the golden words; 'Ship Assignment.' Swallowing, she clicked open the e-mail. She read the enclosed message:   
  
CITIZEN ID; VINYARD, NICOLE RENEE   
SHIP ASSIGNMENT; ORION  
POD NUMBER; 1452C  
BOARDING DATE; JULY-4-2001   
BOARDING LOCATION; WASHINGTON D.C.  
Thank you for your cooperation.   
  
Her eyes almost bugged out. "Gods...it's real," she whispered, a shiver tingling down her spine. "I need a distraction..." She clicked open AOL Instant Messenger, watching as her buddy list appeared. She clicked on the screen-names of her friends Kryss, Anna, and Nick (though she and her friends preferred to call him Q; short for his usual Internet alias, Quatre). She dragged them all into a buddy chat which was appropriately titled, 'Eh...'   
  
Once the chat was opened up Kryss was the first to speak:  
  
Impish: ...Did you all see the report on T.V?   
LoneWolf: I did.   
Qkewl: Me too...   
UFO: I did, too.   
LoneWolf: What are your ship assignments? Mine's on the Orion.   
Impish: O_O;; Me too.   
Qkewl: O.o Me too   
UFO: o.o ME TOO!!   
LoneWolf: ...Gyahahah...  
  
Nicole and her friends discussed the fun they would have aboard the ship together, how exciting the voyage would be, and how scared they were to leaving Earth. All four were but teenagers, and had, of course, spent their entire lives on the ground of Earth. The idea of entering the vast unknown of the universe was both intriguing and frightening to them all. But in the end, all four agreed they would make the best of their limited time left on their home planet and would see each other in two months when the Orion began its journey into outer space...   
  
***Dawn, 7-4-01***   
  
Kryss awoke to the beams of sunlight that filtered through the thin curtains over the window. She was on the couch she'd been sleeping on in the hotel room. She was staying in with her family. They had arrived in Washing D.C. two days prior to Boarding Day with all their valuables they had decided to take with them into space.   
  
She sat up groggily, blinking and running her fingers through her long blonde hair. She growled at the filtered purple-tinted sunlight shining in her face and swung her legs off the side of the couch with a yawn. She shivered as her feet hit the cool hardwood floor of the hotel room, padding over to the bathroom to lay first claim on the shower that morning. After a quick shower and running a brush through her hair she threw on a purple and white shirt she had made after watching Meilin on Card Captor Sakura, khaki pants, and put her hair up in her usual purple bandanna. She then laced up her sneakers and exited the bathroom.   
  
She walked to the couch, stuffing her pajamas from the night before in her duffel bag that she'd packed with a laptop with Anime and such on it, clothes, and of course, her sketchbook, and other various tools.  
  
She walked over to the door that led into the extended room her mother and stepfather were sharing and knocked upon it. "Hey, Mom? Can I go down to the ships and go onboard right now?"  
  
Her mother called back, "Sure Kryss, go ahead. You know where our luggage compartment is at, right? Make sure to meet us there before we take off."  
  
"Okay Mom, thanks," she replied and left the room. Once she was out in the hallways she tore down to the lobby and out of the hotel, leaving a trail of puzzled looks behind her.   
  
She began laughing maniacally and grabbed her skateboard out of the huge side compartment in the duffel she'd gotten especially for their journey into the unknown. She dropped it down on its wheels, riding off down the street and around the corner to the large open field where the thirty space ships were sitting, awaiting their passengers. All the ships were of a uniform shape and size, like an army of alien-looking soldiers. They ships were somewhat oval-shaped with a hill-like top, which had a window running all around the peak. Around their bottoms was a huge collection of tiny spheres, likes a skirt made of bubbles. Underneath those skirts were there huge legs-the thrusters. Along the circumference of them were a few smaller thrusters for directing the ships in space, like many arms from which the hands had been severed. The names of the ships had been painted boldly on the sides in bright yellow.   
  
She skated past probably fifteen ships, dodging angry people who shook their fists, screamed, and cursed at her while she skated past them at insane speeds, before she saw the word 'ORION' printed on one of the ships. She grinned and turned on the board, skating up the ramp of the ship. Once inside the belly of the ship she gaped in awe, nearly toppling over on her board, and nearly running over a fellow passenger who was in a similar state in front of her.   
  
In the belly of the ship it was shocking how much space there was within the metal walls. There was a large open space in the middle of the ship with two stair cases leading downwards, one on the right and one on the left. There was one staircase that led upwards to the long spiral of stairs. The spiral seemed to continue upwards for eternity. Rectangles with numbered and lettered codes were lined up along the spiral, the entrances to the many shelve-like openings; had to be the pods.   
  
At the center of the large open space was a large tube with a little chamber in it and a cable running upwards, all the way to the top. This was the elevator to the observation deck up top. Also, from the top came down a few colored lights that gave the ship a bit of life.  
  
In the midst of her gaping, Kryss realized she was about to run over the brunette girl in front of her about five seconds before she was upon her, taking a sharp turn and meeting a large, black, snakeskin suitcase. "AAAHHHHH!" she screeched as the skateboard rammed into the heavy suitcase, sending her flying over the miniature roadblock and into the metal floor of the ship. "Ouch..." she whimpered, peeling her face off the cold metal ground.   
  
***   
  
Nicole turned around at the yelping behind her, blinking at the sight of the blonde girl sprawled out on the ground, pushing herself up off the floor.   
  
"This is no way to treat a K.E.P.E.P," the girl muttered, fixing her bandanna and scowling at the snakeskin suitcase a few feet away from her.   
  
"...Kryss?" Nicole asked, a curious look on her face.   
  
Kryss looked up in the direction of the voice that had called her. She blinked and sputtered out, "Ni...nic...NICCI?"   
  
"KRYSS! MUAHA!" Nicole cackled, running over to her fallen friend.   
  
She then tripped over a large blue duffel bag, which had not been there seconds before, managing to at least avoid the violin case next to it. She herself was sent sprawling in front of her friend, thus taking a nosedive into the floor of the ship.   
  
She growled, pushing herself up and turning around, "Whoever's bag that is, dies..."   
  
"..." Her glare became a look of surprise, then, again, a glare. "Q...." she growled at the short boy with light brown hair standing with a taller, older-looking girl with dark black-brown hair streaked with red standing next to him. "You tripped me."   
  
"...Oops?" he grinned in a way that reminded herself and Kryss of Quatre so much that it was scary. The girl next to him shivered.   
  
"You are so Quatre..."   
  
"Shut up, Anna."   
  
"Why don't you, little brother?"   
  
Kryss and Nicole looked at each other disdainfully, then back to the squabbling 'siblings.' After they had finally quieted the two, all four finally began their exploration of their new home, Orion.   
  
***Later***   
  
"I didn't know Earth was so beautiful," Nicole breathed dreamily, staring out the large window of the mass hall. "Oh, wow, look...It really did happen."   
  
She pointed out the window in the direction of the North American continent. It was beginning to crumble and those around her and her friends watched it drop off into the ocean with a symphony of gasps and cries for their old home.   
  
The ship had launched into space, and was preparing to make a jump into the neighboring galaxy of Andromeda to begin their search for a new planet to call home.   
  
Something else the people had not been informed of was the technology of 'jumping.' This would enable the people aboard to journey the universe quickly. They could jump from place to place through wormholes to get places that would normally take light-years to reach in seconds. If they were to continue their journey without this ability, the people would not outlive exiting the Milky Way galaxy.   
  
Then, even more was revealed to them. The citizens learned of cryogenic freezing as well. For the purpose of space and the time in which they could be in space, they would be placed in one of those millions of shelves and frozen. Perfectly preserved for as long as it would take to find a new home.   
  
"Come on," Anna said, breaking the fixation her friends had upon the Earth, "Let's go eat something while they make the jump, then let's look around some more."   
  
Nicholas nodded in agreement, "Good idea, let's go." He grabbed Nicole and Kryss' arms, dragging them from the window to the food line across the room from them.   
  
"Damn iiit..." Anna wailed, "This line's so long! We'll never get fed!"  
  
In front of the teenagers stood an old man dressed in a brown suit with a yellow tie. He looked somewhat like Santa Claus, what with his round belly and snowy white beard. His hair was cropped at his ears and he wore a dressy brown hat. He smiled kindly at the young people, saying, "There, there, we'll all get fed sometime. You just have to be patient..."   
  
Nicole grinned, "She knows, but patience isn't her strong point. Neither is thinking..."   
  
Her taller friend stuck her tongue out in reply.   
  
"Hey, uh, why are you all dressed up, Mister?" Kriss asked politely, as she didn't know him well enough to act crude. "I mean, I know it's the Fourth of July and all..."   
  
The old man chuckled, then answered. "Well, see, this is my first time into space, so I felt I should dress up. This is an important event, you know!"   
  
Nick smiled, "Yeah, it's a first for just about everybody on board. So...What's your name, sir?"   
  
He smiled. "Timothy McDermott! Pleasure to meet you kids." He tugged on the sleeve of the woman in front of him. She wore a pretty lavender dress with a ruffle at the skirt and collar. The lady's shoes matched her dress, adorned with silver buckles on the tops. "I'd like you to meet these children. Some of the nicest kids I've met in awhile! Kids, this is my wife, Iris. Iris this is...I'm sorry, what're your names?"   
  
Nicole pointed to herself and to the others in turn, reciting each name. "I'm Nicole, this is Kriss, Anna, and Nick."   
  
He smiled again. "Yes, Nicole, Kryss, Anna, and Nick."  
  
Mrs. McDermott smiled. "It's lovely to meet you all. Where're you all from?" the elderly woman asked as they moved up to the head of the line. She took a tray and plate, moving down the line that somewhat resembled that of a school cafeteria.  
  
"Illinois," Nick said simply. "Not much to say about Illinois. It's just...Illinois."   
  
"Texas," Nicole piped, "but I was born in Florida. I really don't like Texas much; I hate their sports teams, and rodeos bug me. It's just not home to me."  
  
"New York here," Kryss said with a good Yankee accent. "And proud!" she added, nodding.  
  
"New York again," Anna said, picking up her own tray. "Where're you two from? Are you here with any other family?"   
  
Timothy said, "We're from New Hampshire; we have a son, though he moved out a long time ago. His name's Richard; he and his family were assigned to the Nexus."   
  
"My grandparents (on my dad's side) are on the Nexus. So is my grandma on my mom's side," Nicole mentioned, looking over at the couple she and her friends conversed with, not paying attention to whatever the cafeteria workers slapped onto her plate.  
  
"Really?" Iris said.  
  
"Yes ma'am."   
  
After a couple minutes later, the lot of them had finally been freed from the line. Timothy and his wife turned to the kids and smiled. "It was nice talking to you kids! I hope to see you around some more."  
  
"Yeah, that'd be nice," Nick replied. The elderly couple turned and walked off towards the other end of the mass hall.  
  
***  
  
After a bit of searching, the four had claimed a table together with their food piled trays, all with very confused expressions.   
  
"...What is this stuff?!" Nicole said finally, giving the goop on her tray a poke. "Maybe we should have looked a little closer at what they were serving..."  
  
"It looks sort of like Jell-O," Kryss remarked, spooning some of it up, then spilling it back onto the tray again.   
  
"But it's liquid-y, like water. Only it's not as thin," Anna added.   
  
"...All in favor of trashing it?" Q asked. The girls around him sent back frantic nods. All four flung their trays in a garbage can, getting up from the table.  
  
The group went upstairs from the mass hall, looking around in the center of the ship. Outside a small porthole window, Nick noticed everything outside turned colors, into a rainbow of light. The brilliant light shone through the porthole windows all up the spiral doing the same. A moment later the light flashed away and the ship lurched a bit, as if making a sudden stop, which sent the girls toppling backwards onto him. An announcement came up over the loudspeaker almost immediately after that.   
  
The Orion had made its jump into the Andromeda galaxy already. The ship had been well built, holding up well in the journey and through the jump. The gravity machine had held up as well, completely unaffected by the leap through space. The scientists on board would be looking for possibly inhabitable planets while they were there for the next few days. Within a day or two, all humanoids on board would be sent to their pods for cryogenic freezing while Orion scanned all planets for hospitable conditions. If none looked appealing, then they would jump on to the next nearest galaxy to have a look-see.   
  
The teens shortly after decided to head down the other staircase to check out the extra rations and the escape pod area before they had to get frozen. After all, they had all decided to drop their gear in one of the pods down there because so many people had taken up all the room in the main cargo areas with their own supplies. Pretty much everyone was too lazy to take their things to their own luggage compartments.  
  
Kryss stepped over a familiar black snakeskin bag with a scowl, "Snakeskin bag...my nemesis." She gave the bag a swift kick and sent it flying a few feet, disappearing into the escape pod area. Whilst she took to triumphant cackling, Anna shoved her forward, following the direction the bag had gone.   
  
Down in that area of the ship boxes and boxes of rations were stacked everywhere, tied down to keep from shifting during the earlier take off, jumps, and possible spacial turbulence. Bags were piled everywhere here as well, stacked everywhere, even in the open passageways that led to the escape pods.   
  
"Where did we put our bags?" Anna wondered aloud, stepping over someone's bicycle.   
  
"In escape pod number 34G," confirmed Nick, pointing at the pod as he read its name.   
  
All four teenagers entered the pod, squeezing through the small opening that led inside the pod. It was a small round ball, with a ring of seats going around with a window directly across from the entrance. A small control panel with a large red button in the center of it read 'launch' in large bold yellow letters that was placed in the center of the seat ring.   
  
"There're our bags!" Nicole pointed to the bench, trying to get by. "Hey, Q, don't shove damn it!"   
  
Q continued to try and get by the girls first until, annoyed by his trying to squeeze by, the three gave him a good shove inside and stepped in. He fell over the control panel, getting a good stab to the gut from it. Having the air thoroughly knocked out of him, he turned and sat upon the edge of panel to catch his breath. Kryss brushed by him, giving him another shove. Suddenly there was a beeping sound and the pod door slid shut. A sign blinked red bold digitalized letters reading, 'AIR LOCK SECURE.'  
  
A computerized voice spoke to them in the pod, "Pod launch has been initiated." The pod began to stir and shudder, and the sound of clamps being released could be heard. Then the three unwilling escapees of the ship felt the momentum of the pod hurtling off into space.  
  
The three females within the pod turned their heads to Q, their faces blank.  
  
"..."   
  
"..."   
  
"..."   
  
"GOD DAMN IT, NICK!" they screeched, lunging for his throat to strangle him. Shortly after a quick round of abuse was performed on their male comrade, the three began frantically trying to contact the ship with the controls available to them. Suddenly the stars around them flashed with that colored light again, the skies seemed to smear, and the computer voice spoke again, "Jump action performed. Current location; Unidentified Galaxy."   
  
"..."   
  
"..."   
  
"..."   
  
"DAMN IT!!"   
  
A few minutes later, after much more kicking, screaming, mutilating, cursing, and general mangling was performed upon Q, the computerized voice came again, fainter this time. "Pod life-support low. Fuel low. Please...ee--je.ct..." The voice slowed and cut out.   
  
All four sighed, the girls refraining from violence. All silently agreed it would be a waste of oxygen.   
  
Kryss suddenly glared, a small, black object catching her eye. Snakeskin bag, she thought bitterly, I shall never be rid of thee...   
  
Gradually, all four teenagers began to feel sleepy. The lack of oxygen began to take toll on the unlikely passengers of the escape pod. Their eyelids drooped, and the world went black.   
  
***  
  
Trowa Barton blinked as a green light appeared on a navigation screen.   
  
He brushed his long bangs from the side of his face behind his ear, looking at the screen quizzically. "Duo," he called over his shoulder, watching the slow-moving tiny blip.  
  
"What do you want, Trowa?" Duo Maxwell called back. He came skipping to the taller boy, his long braid behind him.   
  
"Look. What do you think it is?" Trowa asked, putting his finger to the green speck.  
  
Duo frowned. "I'm not sure. Let's go inform the others, come on."  
  
***  
  
Duo, Trowa, Heero Yuy, Quatre Winner, and Chang Wufei all stood over the small escape pod they had pulled from space. This had been the small dot on their radar, a meager pod from a ship that was obviously poorly crafted and lacked fuel and oxygen. Inside the young men had discovered four teenagers, three females and one male, all not much younger or older than themselves.   
  
"...Where DID they come from?" Quatre wondered, scratching the back of his corn silk-haired head. "And who are they anyway? Why were they in the middle of space?"  
  
"Like I'm supposed to know?" Duo said, rolling his eyes. He picked up the short blonde inside the tiny escape pod. Duo was thoroughly enjoying the fact that they had found three females. He liked having chances to flirt.  
  
Quatre walked over to the pod, lifting up the smallest of the four, a short brunette with thin-framed glasses. He followed silently after Duo.  
  
Heero stood there and shrugged. "Get the others and all of those bags," he said. Then he walked out after Quatre and Duo.  
  
The others looked at each other and shrugged. Wufei grabbed up the remaining girl with dark brown hair streaked with red and followed suit, leaving Trowa with the male and baggage. He glared angrily after him and sighed, hauling the young male and bags violently across the floor after his departed 'friends' to sick bay.  
  
Once there he found Quatre, Duo, and Wufei placing the girls on what would appear to be a table with cushions on it. Heero was sitting on another table and cleaning his gun. Trowa slapped the boy on a table as well, putting all the access baggage on yet another.   
  
"...Let's look through it," Heero said, taking the bag nearest to him, which had a tag labeled 'Nicole Vinyard' on it.  
  
***  
  
Nicole stared at the blackness on the insides of her eyelids. Her whole body tensed. She didn't know where she was. She was lying on someone soft and cool, and the room she was in was cold as well. Male voices were speaking.   
  
"What's this thing?" one said, "It looks kind of like a slingshot."  
  
"Wufei, don't do that..."  
  
"OW! The damn thing smacked me in the face! Bloody hell, it's got me bleeding!"  
  
Snorting and laughter followed that.  
  
Nicole took a deep breath and chose to open her eyes, meeting bright lights. She groaned and sat up, rubbing her head. The conversation nearby ended abruptly, and she chose to turn and look at whoever was in the room with her.   
  
She blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes. "Du...du...DUDE! I'M ON THE PEACE MILION! We are so not in Kansas anymore, Toto..." She felt another faint coming on... Was she really on the Peace Milion? She could swear the boys in the room with her were the main characters of Gundam Wing.  
  
All five boys stared at her with very surprised expressions, their eyes practically bugging out of their heads, Wufei holding what appeared to be a red bra to his bleeding nose. Well, she found herself musing, He won't stain it that way, now will he?  
  
"Ah...um...I mean...Hi?" she coughed, trying to look innocent.  
  
Heero looked at her scrutinizingly. "How do you know of your location?"   
  
She flinched. How was she supposed to answer that one? She couldn't exactly tell him the whole story was on a television show. "Um...if I say I'm just special like that, will you stop glaring at me?"   
  
He chose not to respond or to stop glaring, instead whispering in a barely audible voice to his fellow pilots, "We'll take the girls in for interrogation. You saw all those pictures and the drawings in those bags. Wake the others up. The male will be dealt with separately." The other boys nodded in reply. "You," he said more loudly, looking back at Nicole, "What's your name?"  
  
"Nicole Vinyard," she replied in a meek, militant voice.  
  
"Nicole Vinyard, get your bag and that of your female friends. You're coming with me." He turned on his heel and left, his arms crossed, a frown on his face.  
  
She quickly jumped off the table and grabbed up her bag and those of Kriss and Anna, giving Wufei a strange look. "That's a bra. It's used to support females' breasts. That belongs to Anna," she gestured in her brown and red haired friend's direction, then scurried after Heero. As the door slid automatically shut behind her, she heard the sound of the pilots cracking up.  
  
***  
  
TO BE CONTINUED! MUAHA! 


	2. Males Suck

b**DISCLAIMER**/b  
  
I still don't own GW. The end.  
  
bMisplaced in Space - Chapter Two; Males Suck/b  
  
"Twitch. Twitch-twitch. Twitch-twitch-twitch-twitch-twitch."  
  
Nicole forced herself to stop mumbling 'twitch' and to stop twitching. She sat alone in a large cube-shaped room with plain gray walls and a bright overhead light. In the center of the room was a plain table and on the side Heero had told her to sit were three chairs, one of which she was occupying, and on the other a lone chair. Heero had told her to simply sit and not do anything until he got back, and she had to have been sitting there for at least half an hour.  
  
Just then the door swung open. In marched Kriss, then Anna, then Heero, holding several of the three's belongings. Nicole noted one of which was her sketchbook.  
  
Heero laid the items out on the table, gesturing for Kriss and Anna to sit on either side of their friend. Once they had situated themselves he cleared his throat and spoke.  
  
"Where do you come from?"  
  
"Earth," all three replied together.  
  
"Why are you here? And how did you get here?"  
  
"Uh...well..." Anna began, "We had to evacuate our continent, 'cause it was gonna crumble up beneath us, and we don't have much space on Earth, so they evacuated us into space."  
  
Kriss began next, "Then, um, after our ship jumped to the Andromeda area, we kind of ended up shooting ourselves into space in an escape pod, by accident of course."  
  
"It was all Q's fault!" Anna wailed.  
  
"YES!" Nicole and Kriss nodded in frantic agreement.  
  
Heero raised an eyebrow, shaking his head. He lifted up one of Anna's wall scrolls with pictures of Duo going all across it. "What is this?"  
  
Anna blushed. "Um...uh..."  
  
"Well?" he pressed, "Where did you get it?"  
  
"...E-bay?" she replied innocently.  
  
"..." He again shook his head and turned to Nicole, lifting her sketchbook, thumbing through the pages he had marked. Many of the sketches in there were of Quatre, him, and the other pilots. Some were shirtless images. She labeled most all of her drawings and wrote her comments about them, too. After viewing a couple of them, probably shirtless where she wrote comments about Quatre's hotness, a smirk appeared on his face, and then faded. He set the sketchbook back down, and leaned over the table, his face inches from Nicole's.  
  
"How did you know who I and the other pilots are and what we look like before you came here? How do you know of your location?"  
  
"Uh..." she looked to Kriss, then to Anna with a 'Should-I-tell-him?' look on her face.  
  
Kriss decided to step up to bat. "Okay, look. We knew because there's a television program on Earth called Gundam Wing. Everyone who's seen the show knows all about you, the other pilots, the Peace Milion, the gundams, the Libra, Princess Relena, all of that. We happen to be GW fanatics. We ended up here solely by chance and we are, all in all, thrilled to be in the belly of the Peace Milion. Nicci here has all those sketches there because Quatre is her favorite GW bishie. Otay? You follow me?"  
  
"..." Heero sat, his face stone-like. "You...expect...me...to...believe...THAT?" He looked like he might actually laugh.  
  
"I can prove it to you!" Kriss wailed. "Give me my movies and point me to a VCR or a DVD player!"  
  
Heero shrugged, pushing her movies to her. "There's a film-playing device in the conference room."  
  
***  
  
Once the girls, Q, and the pilots were all within the conference room, Kriss grabbed Endless Waltz up and popped it in. She then plopped down in a chair between Nicole and Duo.  
  
Duo winked at her, "Hey there, cutie." Nicole rolled her eyes.   
  
Kriss grinned, her eyes on the screen. She whispered, "Ssh, it's starting."  
  
Throughout the film the G-boys' eyes grew wider and wider. Kriss and company found it rather funny how they were sitting among all the characters in the movie. The boys were rather shocked by the resemblances.   
  
Once the movie had ended, all five of the young men sat with their mouths hanging open, shock apparent on their faces.  
  
"Now do you believe us?" Nicole asked, turning to look at the pilots.   
  
Heero blinked once, wiping the look of shock from his face. "Hn...Leave. We have to discuss this," he said, remaining as cool, calm, and collected as one can when they've just seen themselves in a movie.   
  
"Sure," Q responded before the others could protest, dragging them outside the room.  
  
"What do we do with them?" Quatre asked, once they had gone.  
  
"...I do not know," Heero said slowly. "Does anyone have any ideas?"  
  
"Uh...well..." Duo began.  
  
"Yes, Duo?"  
  
"Uh...why don't we let them...stay? I mean we could use them. One of them might make a good mechanic, or they might make good pilots!"  
  
Wufei groaned, "You just want them to stay so you can flirt with the girls."  
  
Duo blushed, "That's not true! Besides, I saw you looking at that one girl Anna!"  
  
It was then Wufei's turn to blush. "Why you little braided brat..."  
  
"That's Braided Wonder, thank you."  
  
"Grr..."  
  
"Look, we aren't going to get anywhere this way!" Heero huffed. "We'll let them stay. Tomorrow we will begin testing them and seeing if they have the capability to serve upon the Peace Milion, with authorization. Got it?"  
  
"Got it," all four pilots replied.  
  
***The Next Morning***  
  
"Do you think they'll ever get tired of playing...?" Kriss wondered aloud.  
  
"Probably not," Anna replied, stretching her legs out over the couch. The four friends had decided to hang around in the den of the Peace Milion. The ship was like being in an overly large flying mansion. "What's this called again, Nick?"  
  
"Sparkling Harmony," he said, sliding the bow across the strings of his violin. Nicole continued to play her part in time, not speaking, as it's impossible to do such whilst playing the flute.  
  
As the two continued playing their music the door to the room slid open. Quatre and Trowa stuck their heads in. Trowa had a tiny surprising smile on his face. Quatre spoke, "Hey, I couldn't help but hear that pretty music. Who's playing?"  
  
Kriss pointed at Nicole and Q. "They've been playing for like half an hour straight."  
  
Quatre shrugged, "Practice is good. Come on and pack up the instruments though. You guys have to undergo some testing today."  
  
Nicole took her instrument from her lips to take it apart. "What kind of testing?"  
  
"Mental endurance, physical endurance. What kind of skills and talents you have. Basically to see how you can most effectively serve upon the Peace Milion."  
  
"Serve...upon the Peace Milion? You mean you guys want us to stay?" Q asked slowly.  
  
"Well, sure. If you want to stay that is."  
  
"Are you NUTS?! Of course we want to stay, right guys?!" Kriss shrieked, jumping up.  
  
"Yeah!" the others replied in unison.  
  
Trowa watched as Q and Nicole packed their instruments and remarked, "The four of us will have to play together sometime."  
  
All four of the foreign teenagers looked at each other in surprise, then out the window, half expecting comets, meteors, or maybe some brimstone.   
  
"Let's get going," Quatre pressed, walking out the door of the room.   
  
Everyone followed suit, exiting after him. He and Trowa led them to the docking bay, where the other pilots waited. A pile of suits was on the ground in front of them, a few helmets at the side.  
  
"Suit up," Heero ordered.  
  
The four teenagers followed orders, putting on the suits provided, each taking a helmet.  
  
"It's too biiiig..." Nicole whined, lifting up one of the suits that had been designed for the taller boys. Heero sent her one of his 'perfect soldier' glares. She stuck her tongue out at him, grumbling as she pulled on the overly large suit.   
  
"We'll get you all fitting ones later," said a voice, as the docking doors opened. The figure of Zechs Marquise came into view as he walked further within the bay.  
  
Anna blinked a couple times. Her heart skipped a beat. She feebly tried to keep her jaw up. "Wow...He's even hotter in real life..." she whispered dreamily. Kriss gagged.  
  
Zechs coughed a bit, walking towards the teenagers. He held his arms behind his back, looking at the passengers. He ordered for the testing to commence. Test by test, the foreigners of the Gundam universe were put through mentally and physically grueling tests. Each tested aspects of their strength, ways of thinking, even their psyche.  
  
One of the tests was one of tolerance in a Gundam, and piloting potential. Kriss and Nicole crawled out of the Deathscythe Hell and Wing Zero they began squeaking and chirping excitedly:  
  
"Dude that was SO COOL!!! I didn't realize those things could go that fast! Did you see the weapon systems?! That was amazing!"  
  
Duo and Heero looked at each other strangely as they watched the girls skip off to the flight simulator.   
  
"...They have potential," Heero muttered.  
  
"We would be in agreement, my utterly mad buddy. I can't believe that Vinyard girl is still walking after riding with you though. Geez, she's about as nuts as you are..."  
  
The 01 pilot simply walked in the other direction, shaking his head at the braided fellow. Partly so he wouldn't show the small smile that almost crossed his lips. Female pilots. That'd be quite a change.   
  
Once the two impish ones had reached the flight simulator they began to excel rapidly. Both knocked out nearly all their simulated dolls. When Anna and Nick took their turn at the simulator, Anna did as well as the other girls, while Nick didn't have so much luck at the start, but upon getting the controls under his fingers, he began to catch up to his friends.  
  
After the flight work and other sorts of tests, Zechs announced to the tired teens, "For now, all of you will be tested regularly in the similar. We'll consider beginning to allow you all to begin training in Gundams in a few weeks. I believe most of you could become spectacular pilots, with some work. For now, you'll all work as regular citizens on board. Some of you talents with computers or tools will be put to use. That is all." With that, Zechs exited the docking bay as quietly as he came, leaving Anna a pool of swooning mush.  
  
***Three Days Later***  
  
Within the piloting simulation chambers, screams and shouts rang back and forth. Wufei, Duo, Nicole, and Kriss had occupied a few of the chambers together, battling their simulated Gundams while Heero played referee.  
  
"Take that, you! You...you...YOU BAKAGAMI!" Kriss shrieked, firing her Vulcan cannon at Duo.  
  
Duo flew out of the way, pulling out his saber. He slashed off the right arm of Kriss' digital Gundam. "That's Shinigami, thank you sweetie." He winked.   
  
Nicole preformed her usual gagging sounds while Duo attempted to flirt with Kriss. While she was in the midst of exercising her gag reflex Wufei came up behind her, slashing across her Gundam's back.   
  
"...OI!" she screamed. "INJUSTICE!!"  
  
"Hey, that's MY line!" Wufei growled.  
  
"MINE NOW!!"  
  
"NO, MINE!! ONNA!!"  
  
"...Wufei...Be nice to our guests..." Heero said monotonously.  
  
The boy only grumbled.  
  
Just then Trowa and Quatre poked their heads in.   
  
"Ahem...Heero?" Quatre called.  
  
"Yes, Quatre?"   
  
"Uh...We caught something else on the radar today...Should we check it out?"  
  
Heero sighed, scratching at the back of his neck. "Hn...Get Zechs. Have it picked up. We will meet you in the docking bay." He then abruptly aborted the simulator. The four disgruntled digital-Gundam pilots stomped out looking...well...disgruntled that their simulation had been cut short.  
  
Once the five Gundam pilots and trainees of the Peace Milion had collected from the escape pod that had became misplaced in the fabric of space had assembled in the docking bay they met up with Zechs and another large object that resembled an escape pod.  
  
"...Another?" Trowa spoke quietly.  
  
"Yes, another," Zechs replied, "This one appears to be from a different ship than these kids came from though..." He clicked his tongue. "Shall we open it?"  
  
Wufei shrugged, stepping up to the pod. He pushed a couple keys upon the pad beside the door, causing it to slide open.   
  
A loud "GRRRRRRR!!!!!" emitted from within the small vessel.  
  
SMACK!!  
  
"OW!" Wufei howled, hopping back from the pod. From within jumped a tall girl with blackish hair and green-colored eyes. Her fists were clenched tightly, as were her teeth. She was dressed in baggy tree-trunk jeans and a quite loose, dull green tank top. On her feet she wore pink flip-flops with metallic flowers on the tops of them. In each ear she had two earrings, and her finger and toenails were painted a glittery pink color. In all honestly she looked anything but fierce.  
  
Wufei glared at the girl, rubbing his sore cheek. The girl's look had suddenly softened as she looked at Wufei. She looked around at the other Gundam pilots, her mouth dropping open.   
  
"Oh...my...god...I'm...on...the...PEACE MILION?!" she ended with a high shriek that vibrated back through the docking bays.  
  
"So you've heard of us too, eh?" Zechs asked, walked towards her. "Greetings...I am-,"  
  
"Zechs Marquise, or Milliardo Peacecraft," the girl finished for him.  
  
"Erm...yes..." he coughed, "You are?"  
  
"Name's Ashely...Hey...WAIT A SECOND!!" Her eyes had fallen upon Nicole, Kriss, Anna, and Nick. "Sodi? Aya? UFO? Q? You guys are HERE?! Oh my God, how'd you get here?!"  
  
"Um...Nick did it, Zodi!" Anna shrieked, pointing at her 'sibling.'  
  
"DID NOT! KRISS PUSHED ME!!" he shrieked, putting the blame on the smaller impish girl.  
  
Ashley rubbed her forehead, "Sssh...Calm down, children...One at a time."  
  
All four of her friends who she had known over the computer until about five minutes from the current moment all began going over the story. Then they demanded that Ashley describe how she'd ended up in the Gundam dimension as she drug her luggage from the pod.  
  
"Uh...well," she coughed, "After you guys disappeared in the escape pod, search pods were sent out...My parents wouldn't let me go with the search parties...They didn't understand. So, I snuck out in an escape pod and I...kind of got lost, too. We were on the Cypress..." She sighed. "But, hey...Now I'm here...I'm in the Gundamverse!!" she grinned widely, looking over at Wufei, then quickly back to her friends.  
  
The Gundam pilots sat, utterly confused. Once the teenagers had taken notice of their state of perplexion, they explained. Shortly after Zechs took Ashley to the hanger for quick round of testing and the simulator, where it was determined she would function as a pilot soon as well, possibly a mechanic. She had to earn her keep somehow. Shortly after, all of the teenagers were sent back to their cabins to rest. Ashley was to use one of the extra sleeping areas in the girls' cabin.  
  
***  
  
Ashley groaned as she clopped into the cabin that was for the girls. There was a large main room with a bed in each corner. Three of which had the appearance of being occupied, so she took her bag and plopped it on the bed. She looked around the room. The walls were all a pale blue color with a simple gray carpet. A large window was located on either side of the room, and at the back, across from the door, was a large closet. At each bed had a nightstand at its side.   
  
Shortly after Ashley came Kriss, Nicole, and Anna. All four were just getting comfy as the speaker to their room came on.  
  
"Hello? Can you hear me?" called a feminine voice.  
  
Nicole groaned, "Yeah, we hear you. Who's there?"  
  
"This is Princess Relena Peacecraft. I am requesting your presence at this evening's banquet upon the Peace Milion, as our humbled guests. Please prepare, the banquet is in two hours. Thank you."  
  
The speaker blipped off. Nicole gagged, "Baka ne Relena...I hate her. Evil. She wants a piece of Hee-chan's ass."  
  
Kriss snickered evilly as she removed her shirt to begin getting ready, adjusting the strap of her black velvety bra. "But not as much as you, right Nicci?"  
  
"Grrr...You shut up. You know the only ass I want a piece of is Quatre's. Besides, you know you're after Shinigami and his braid. You want him BAD!" she shot back as she slipped off her own shirt. "Ugh, I need a shower..." she groaned, walking to the door near the closet that led to their bathroom. After a moment the water started up.   
  
Kriss was kicking at the door and screaming while Ashley and Anna began undressing.   
  
Shortly after all the girls had showered they all stood in their undergarments, drying their hair and talking.   
  
"I don't care what you do tonight at the banquet, Kriss...Duo is mine!" Anna was saying as she blow-dried her hair.   
  
"Gah...I don't care. Take the damn Bakagami..." she grumbled, raking a comb through her blonde tangles.  
  
"Well, no matter what either of you say, Wufei is the best," Ashley said firmly, whipping her short wet hair.   
  
"You're just saying that 'cause you want to screw him!" Kriss snickered.  
  
"WHAT?!? I DO NOT!!" she screeched defensively. "I JUST THINK WU-KUN IS COOL!"  
  
"Wu-kun?! Didja hear that?? Wu-kun?? Ohh, she's got it bad for him!" Anna teased.  
  
"I do not! Geez, I punched the crap out of him. If I liked him would I do that, even if I'd known who he was?"  
  
"Yeah, you would," Nicole piped up, "Because Wufei doesn't like little weak things. Nope, no weak onnas for him...You got his interest, I bet!"  
  
"QUIET YOU QUATRE LOVER!"  
  
"HEY, QUATRE'S KAWAII! HE KICKS ASS!"  
  
"HE'S A WUSS!" Kriss screeched, obviously disgusted by her words. "HOW IS THAT KAWAII?!"  
  
"HE IS NOT!! AND HE'S KAWAII 'CAUSE HE IS!" she growled, giving Kriss a glare almost exactly like the perfect soldier expression Heero Yuy carried.  
  
Kriss stuck her tongue out at Nicole before electing to tell Wufei how hot Ashley was for him, then spill the beans about the brunette imp's crush on Quatre, too.   
  
Nicole had no objections to doing such to Ashley, so she pounced upon her friend, trying to drag her to the door to shove her outside in her half-dressed state whilst Kriss trying to contact Wufei. Nicole soon called for Anna's assistance in dragged her much taller friend outside, all the while screaming and hollering.  
  
***Down the Hall***  
  
"...What is all that screeching?!" Duo grumbled.  
  
"No idea..." Quatre replied.  
  
"...Let's check it out...Something may be wrong," Heero decided as he walked out of the meeting chamber into the hall, wearing his uniform perfect soldier frown.  
  
***Back at the Girl's Room***  
  
"One...Two...Three...HEAVE!!!" Nicole, Anna, and Kriss shouted, giving Ashley a good final shove. With that they managed to send her flying out in the hallway, towards the cold metal floor of the Peace Milion.  
  
Before falling she screeched, "If I go, you're coming with me!!" and latched onto Anna's arm. Anna therefore grabbed Nicole with her, Nicole grabbing Kriss with her.  
  
"Gaaah..." Kriss chattered, wishing her boxers covered her bare legs. "Brrr..."  
  
Just as the girls were getting up to go back in, the five Gundam pilots came around the bend in the hall, stopping abruptly. In seeming unison their mouths dropped open at the scene of four scantily clad girls fighting their way back into their bedroom, shivering from cold floors and dripping hair.   
  
"Um...did we...miss...something?" Quatre coughed, casting his eyes down, being the kind soul he was.  
  
Next to him, Duo was grinning from ear to ear. "This is heaven!" he whooped, looking up and down at the girls before giving a slow whistle.   
  
This apparently infuriated Kriss, as she marched up to the braided pilot, outstretched her right arm, and thus slapped him across the face. "Take that, hentai Bakagami!"  
  
"Aw, babe, you hurt me so..." He gave, a play-sniffle.   
  
She smacked him again.  
  
"Owww..."  
  
Kriss scurried back to her friends. The guys had moved in a bit closer.  
  
"So, uh..." Quatre began. His eyes were continually wandering over to Nicole. This was not the proper way for a gentleman to behave. Getting red faced for some half-nude girl who happened to be visibly cold... He then smacked himself into not thinking about it. He was going to get a horrid nosebleed at this rate.  
  
All the sudden Kriss gave Nicole a good shove, "Go! Flock to your Q-sama!" Kriss cackled as her friend shrieked and fell into the arms of the Arabian boy.   
  
Nicole turned a tomato color while glaring at her impish comrade. "You die! SHINEE!" She growled.   
  
Kriss cackled as she backed up, bumping into Duo.  
  
"Oooo...See, you want me!" he cackled.  
  
"HENTAI BAKAGAMI! SHINEE!!" she screamed, smacking him for the third time before running off. While Ashley, who was yet to be humiliated, chuckled, she ran to her, shoving her into Wufei. Wufei, despite the stick in his hindquarters, blushed.  
  
Ashley blushed as well, just as a voice came:  
  
"What in the name of God is going on here?! Wow, Wufei, nice to see you're loosening up," came the softly laughing voice of Zechs as he walked into the hall. "Gee, Quatre, don't drop that girl. You look like you're gonna faint."  
  
All three of the girls again turned red.  
  
"HENTAI!! ECCHI DA!!" the girls screeched, flinging themselves inside the room, with the exception of she who was seemingly shameless. Anna, complaining about how she wanted to go exploring despite her lack of clothing, was pulled after the first three girls, letting the door shut behind them.  
  
After a moment, Nicole poked her head out at the dumbfounded boys. "Uh...by the way...We don't have any, uh...Clothes...Formal kinds...For the banquet...Could you maybe, like, help us...?" Her cheeks were flaming. These guys had seen more of her than pretty much anyone of the male species ever had before.   
  
"Heero...Please see to it that the ladies get dresses..." Zechs said.  
  
"...Yes sir..." he said monotonously, turning on his heel and leaving.  
  
***In the Bedroom***  
  
"If there's something more embarrassing in existence then having the Gundam Wing pilots catch you half nude, I don't want to meet it," Kriss grumbled, plopping on her bed.  
  
Anna was spasming, "Did you hear what he said?! DRESSES?! DRESSES!! AHHH!!!"  
  
"Anna, calm down. They're just dresses..." Nicole said calmly, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder.  
  
"JUST DRESSES?! ARE YOU MAD, WOMAN!?" She began to shake her violently, "DRESSES ARE THE DEVIL!! THE DEVIL, I SAY!! DRESSES ARE SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Her voice faded out as Ashley and Nicole stuffed her in the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her.  
  
The three remaining in the main room all looked at the bathroom door with eyebrows raised as it vibrated under Anna's beating fists.   
  
A moment later, the door opened a crack, four packages were flung inside, and the door shut again.  
  
Ashley reached the packages first, picking them up. Each one had one of the girls' names on it. She flung Kriss and Nicole their packages, and then cautiously opened the bathroom door. A seemingly rabid Anna came tearing out. Ashley flung the package in her face and ran away.  
  
After the girls opened and inspected the contents of the packages, all were rather pleased. Each had received a decent dress for the banquet. Ashley's was long and Chinese-styled, with a dragon going up the skirt. Nicole had received a long, shimmer-y, forest-green dress with thin straps and an even darker green wrap to go over her shoulders. Kriss' was a shorter dress, sort of like Devil Hunter Yohko's outfit, with long billowing sleeves, and was a purple color. Anna's was large and billowy, kind of like a princess' gown.  
  
Once she was dressed, Nicole sighed, sitting on the edge of Kriss' bed.  
  
"I hate wearing dresses," she grumbled, tugging at her long forest-green gown.  
  
"I think Anna hates it more," Kriss cackled, pointing to their spastic roommate. She was attempting to rip off the dress while Ashley held her arms down.  
  
Kriss hummed quietly while tapping a few keys randomly on her laptop. She suddenly gave a gleeful cry of, "It worked!"  
  
"Huh? What worked?" Nicole asked, looking over her impish friend's shoulder.  
  
"I tapped into the video security system aboard the Peace Milion." She grinned sadistically. "See, here's us," she pointed to one of the many boxes that were split up on her screen.  
  
"And there's Heero, Quatre, Zechs, and Bakagami."  
  
"You mean you can see what they're doing?" Ashley asked. She had giving up fighting with Anna. Anna scurried after her towards the two impish girls sitting before the small computer. As she went she ripped off bits of frilly stuff on the dress.  
  
"Uh-huh," Kriss replied. "Anybody wanna spy on one of the guys?"  
  
"ZECHS!" Anna squeaked. "ZECHS, ZECHS, ZZZZZZEEEEEECCCCCCHHHHHHSSSSSS!!!!!"  
  
Kriss twitched. "Okay, geez. Spastic." She clicked the box that had Zechs' figure centered in it. It enlarged, showing the whole big picture.  
  
"Hey," Kriss frowned at one of the now tiny boxes in the corner. "Bakagami left his room."  
  
"Speak of the devil," Ashley giggled as the braided boy walked into Zechs' room. "Yaoi!!!!!" she squeaked happily.  
  
Kriss and Anna then promptly smacked her.  
  
"Be quiet you guys. Kriss, turn up the volume," Nicole said, straining to here what the two were talking about. Kriss turned it up.  
  
Duo laughed. "Zechs, you seemed to be really interested in that Anna girl today. I know I saw you looking at her. You sly old dog."  
  
Zechs' eyes shifted in the braided boy's direction. "I think you should speak for yourself Maxwell. You were hitting on that Imp girl left and right."  
  
Duo promptly turned a bright shade of red. "I...I was not!!"  
  
"I thought you didn't lie, Shinigami?"  
  
"I don't...I just...um...I tiptoe around the truth from time to time! Um...yeah!" Utterly flustered, Duo darted from the room, his braid nearly getting caught in the door.   
  
Zechs snickered and started combing his long, damp hair.  
  
Anna was blushing and Kriss was fuming when they closed that box. "Where shall we go next?" she grumbled flatly.  
  
"Spy on Spandex Boy!" Ashley cackled, "Then I wanna see Wu-kun!" Kriss complied, clicking onto the box Heero was in.  
  
The box enlarged, showing Heero in his room, decked out fancy clothing (anyone seen those white clothes with the stockings and the fancy jacket Peacecraft wears? Or like Zechs' clothes all the time. But modified for a gu guy, minus stockings...yeah…) clicking around on his computer. Suddenly the door slide open to his room and Quatre walked in, holding a big, black leather book.   
  
"My sketchbook!" Nicole yelped.  
  
Quatre coughed to get Heero's attention. Heero responded with a 'Hn' sound, not looking up.  
  
"Heero," he began, "How come there's so many pictures of me in here? Where'd you get this?"  
  
"Hn. That Nicole girl. That's her sketchbook."  
  
"She drew these...? Wow...She seems...fond of me..." he blushed.   
  
"Hn," the Japanese boy repeated.   
  
Quatre sighed. "Well, it's almost time for the banquet to start. Relena'll have a spasm if you're late."  
  
"Hn."  
  
The blonde boy sighed and exited, still holding Nicole's sketchbook.   
  
Just as Kriss had minimized the box again the door opened with a 'whoosh' sound, and there appeared the braided head of Duo.   
  
Kriss yowled, slamming her laptop shut and flinging it beneath her bed. The rest of the group scattered across the room.   
  
Bakagami blinked at the sudden movements as he stepped inside. "What's going on in here?" he asked, his cobalt eyes shifting between each girl.  
  
"Nothing!" the four squeaked together.   
  
"Uh-huh. Sure. What was on that screen, huh?" He moved in beside Kriss, placing his gloved hands upon her shoulders and his face dangerously close to her own.  
  
Nicole muttered to Anna, "Ten bucks says she goes for the braid first."  
  
"You're on," she replied.   
  
Kriss scooted away from the braided wonder, glaring back at him as if he was the scum of the earth (in her mind, I suppose he was...). "Back away or die!" she growled, grabbing up a pencil from the night table.   
  
Duo ignored her warning, placing an arm about her waist. He purred into her ear, "C'mon, babe, be kind..."  
  
With that a war cry bubbled from the small girl's throat and she raked out at his eyes. Duo grabbed her wrist with shocking speed, stopping the pencil an inch from his left eye. Kriss only glared.   
  
"Fuck," cursed the Quatre-lover, slapping a ten spot into Anna's waiting palm.   
  
Duo twisted the blonde imp's wrist, forcing her to release her death grip upon the pencil. He hefted her up and smiled as he drug her towards the door. She began to scream and protest as he pulled her down the hallway, calling over her cries, "Stop this, or we'll be late!"   
  
The other girls jumped up. "The banquet!" they cried, diving for the door. The trio rushed down the hall after the duo (haha!) ahead of them.   
  
***  
  
Upon arrival in the banquet hall, Ashely was astounded by the size of the room. It looked like something out of a storybook; bronzed pillars were set all around the circular room. Running behind the pillars was a hallway that offered a bit of shade from the brilliant lights that flew from the humongous chandelier that hung from the ceiling.  
  
Oh, the ceiling! It was a large dome ceiling, painted with a large mural of cherubs and clouds. All of those tiny angels above intermingled with the intricate patterns of clouds and among those were flowers and vines and leaves. The sheer beauty of it left her breathless.   
  
Ahead of her were bunches of tables set around a large circular clear space where people were dancing. Behind the dance floor stood a relatively small stage, and upon that were four people Ashley recognized quite well. Nicole, Quatre, Nick, and Trowa stood upon it, playing a tune together.   
  
She blinked for a moment in surprise then giggled. She then spotted Kriss, sitting dolefully between Duo and Heero. She hurried over to their table, for she didn't recognize the majority of the people in the ballroom. She took a seat next to Duo, happy to have some people she knew there.   
  
She looked around the room at all the people everywhere. Most of them she'd never seen on the Peace Milion in her short time there. "Who are all these people?"  
  
Duo piped up, "Colony nobles, some of Zechs' people, and pretty much everybody Relena could drag up here. She likes having big flashy parties like this." He sighed. "Honestly, it gets so old. It's always the same folks with sticks up their ass all the time. It's no fun!" He looked over at Heero. "Really, Hee-man, you ought to make your woman invite some fun people!"  
  
Heero only glared, reaching into his coat. He pulled something out of it, enough to show that it was the handle of his prized gun.   
  
Duo began laughing nervously, holding up his hands defensively. "Just a joke, man, just a joke! I-I know she's not your woman! Ehehe..."   
  
Kriss glanced over at Duo evilly, "Is Duo afwaid of Heewo's 'ittle gun? Aww..."   
  
Duo glared at her, "I'm not afraid of anything!"   
  
"Oh, so you weren't just backing off like a turtle into his shell just now?"   
  
"Of course not!" he said matter-of-factly, "I was protecting this marvelous face of mine." He nodded for emphasis.   
  
"Uh-huh, sure, whatever. Pansy," she replied sarcastically, sipping at her drink.  
  
Duo growled and grabbed her arm, dragging her up to the dance floor. "Would a pansy do this?" he inquired as he placed an arm around her waist, pulling her to him. He then stepped off, pulling her into the quick waltz the group on stage played.   
  
Kriss only glared murderously at him.  
  
Back at the table, Ashley was laughing hysterically, watching Kriss purposely stepping on his feet to cause him as much trouble as possible. It was quite an amusing sight to see.   
  
She wiped her eyes and turned back to the table touching at the Chinese-styled bun she'd rolled her hair into. Heero had disappeared and she found herself quite alone at the table. She sighed, looking around at all the couples dancing. Everyone looked so happy...With the exception of a certain god of idiots and a wily imp.  
  
Ahead of her, she spotted Anna. She was standing near the Marquise, leaning against a bronzed pillar. Zechs had on a rather suave face, probably working his silk tongue on the girl. Ashley couldn't tell what they were saying, but whatever it was had made Anna turn red as a beet.  
  
Suddenly, Anna caught Ashley's eye. She smiled and gave a small wave. The lone girl replied with a grin and thumbs up, mouthing that she, 'Go get 'em!' Her friend grinned and turned back to the white-haired man, leaving Ashley alone yet again.  
  
She sighed and leaned over, folding her arms and resting her head upon them. Despite all those people around her, all that company, she felt as though she were still alone, adrift in space. Maybe it was because she'd arrived so much later on board? After all, she'd only been on the Peace Milion a day...  
  
The tall girl sighed once more, ruffling her dark bangs. "What is it I always feel so left out?" she wondered aloud, tilting back to stare up at the mural ceiling again.  
  
Beside her, a voice replied, "I sort of know how you feel."   
  
"Huh?" she squeaked, whipping her head around in search of the owner of the voice. At her left sat Chang Wufei, the original tight-ass himself, sporting a dashing fist-sized bruise in the center of his face, accented with a white strip at the bridge of his nose.  
  
She blinked a few times before bursting into a volley of apologies.   
  
"OhmygodI'msosorryareyouokay?Ican'tbelieveIdidthattoyou!I'mveryverysorryEEEpleaseforgiveme!" she cried, bowing to further emphasize her infinite regrets.   
  
Wufei simply shrugged it off, insisting that she rise. "Do no be such an onna! This injustice will be forgotten, just as this bruise will fade."  
  
The girl brightened. "Thank you."   
  
A few moments of silence passed between the two. The pair sat, watching dancers say to and fro to the piece the small orchestra performed. A few more instruments had joined the quartet more variety within the music. As the slower piece came to a close, a strike of the cello brought on a more energetic dance that livened the crowd, controlling them like the master working his marionettes.   
  
As the dancers swung into the quick dance, Ashley finally spoke again. "So, ah, what's it like to be a Gundam pilot? I always thought it'd be so cool, getting to ride in one of those!"   
  
"Well," he began, "I suppose it is a tolerable line of work. All the violence, the war I must make, it is hard. Dishonorable. Sometimes, it makes me feel unworthy of Nataku..." The Chinese pilot hung his head for a moment before continuing. "All the bloodshed is unbecoming of Nataku...but I am glad Nataku is still with me, not destroyed like in that Endless Waltz." He looked back at her. "Be glad you are a woman."  
  
"...Excuse me?"  
  
"Be glad you are a woman; that your place is not on the battlefield that you cannot fight like that. Women are fortunate for their place in the kitchen." He nodded, as though agreeing with himself. "Don't you think?"   
  
Ashley paused a moment, taking in a deep breath. She closed her eyes and mouthed something the young pilot could not catch. A moment more passed before she opened her green eyes, smiling sweetly. She opened her mouth to reply:  
  
"YOU FUCKING SEXIST PIG! I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW I'M GOING TO BE A PILOT AND I AM GONNA KICK YOUR ASIAN ASS BACK TO THE ORIENT!"  
  
Having gotten that off her chest, she smiled, curtsied, saying, "If you'll excuse me, sir, I need a bit of fresh air." At that, the girl turned and dashed out the banquet hall.  
  
***  
  
"All right Chang, what'd you say to her?" an enraged Anna demanded, seeming to tower before the boy. At his left and right stood the impish duo, and all three girls glared maliciously down at him.   
  
Only about four seconds had passed from Ashley's departure to when the three had swooped upon him with the furious shrieks and rage of angry harpies. Wufei felt as though he was sinking into his chair as he stared up at Ashley's angry roommates.  
  
"Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn," spat Kriss, "so you better spill!"  
  
When he continued to remain silent, Nicole clutched his coat collar. "Your nose is already broken. If you don't answer, there will be lots of pain. And we will make you pretty. You will not like it."  
  
At that, the boy promptly left his trance. He narrowed his onyx eyes at the girls. "I will not be reduced to a mere woman onna! I did nothing but tell the girl her place, and that's in the kitchen, not the cockpit of a Gundam! And that's where the three of you belong, too! IN THE KITCHEN! SO GO AND MAKE ME A SAM'MICH!" he shouted.   
  
His words surprised the girls at first, as they were totally out of character for him. Once his insult had sunk in, the trio pounced upon him, screeching, YOU DIE!"  
  
A moment later Duo, Trowa, and Quatre were peeling them from their companion's bruised body.   
  
"Maybe they should go back to their room?" suggested Nick, whom stood back behind the other boys, fearing that he would be beaten as well. Trowa nodded.   
  
Quatre glanced down at Wufei's twitching form. "Maybe we should take him to sick bay?"   
  
"Nah," said, waving it off. "He deserves it."  
  
"In...Injustice..." Wufei squeaked as the murderous girls were toted away, screaming for his blood as a crowd began to form around him.   
  
***  
  
"'...Fortunate for their place in the kitchen...' that pig! Oh, I can't believe him!" Ashley fumed, storming down a hall towards the hanger. She'd figured it was about the only place where she could be alone. She didn't want to go back to the room; the others would try to comfort her and baby her... She didn't want that right now.   
  
So, instead she was hoping for a little solitude within the hanger. Once she'd reached the place she entered the key bode that she'd watched Zechs use that morning when she was led there for testing. The double doors slid open then closed yet again once she'd stepped inside. She strolled past rows of Aries' and strange machines and keypads, which she supposed were for removing restraints on the gundams. She passed six or seven empty restraint gates before she came to the star gundams aboard the Peace Milion.   
  
Her eyes glittered with child-like awe, staring up at the larger-than-life behemoths of machines. As she passed each, she read the plaques welded into each gate aloud. "01, Wing Zero...02, Deathscythe Hell...03, Heavyarms...04 Sandrock...05 Altron...Heh, Wufei's precious Nataku." She smiled with mild amusement as she stared up at the machines. Then her smiled faded and she sighed, sinking to the cold metal floor. She leaned upon the railing of Altron's gate, staring past the gundam and out a tiny window. The twin moons of a planet glittered outside like huge diamonds on black velvet with tiny flecks of ice. Their silver light streamed though the window, shining on her face. A tear rolled down her cheek and glittered like a tiny child of those parent moons.   
  
She made a fist, and then slammed it onto the ground. "I swear..." she whispered, as though trying not to disturb the slumber of the awe-inspiring monstrosities around her, "I'm going to make him eat those words..."  
  
***  
  
TO BE CONTINUUUUUUUUED! *cackles* 


	3. Unusual Girl

b**DISCLAIMER**/b  
  
Still don't own GW, but I do own Shou Mei-Ling. So there. XD  
  
bMisplaced in Space - Chapter Three; Unusual Girl/b  
  
"Nicole, watch you back!" Anna shouted. She wrenched the controls around, sailing towards her friend.   
  
Nicole whirled her gundam around just in time to watch the image of the doll dissipate into nothingness. In it's place stood Anna's mechanical armor. Her sword gleamed dangerously.   
  
A split second later another batch of dolls were upon them. The brunette imp wheeled about, brandishing her machine gun. As she unleashed a volley of shots, forcing more dolls to disappear. She grinned, whooping with excitement and firing her thrusters, sending her sailing up and around. Ahead of her floated the ship that continued ejaculating doll suits after them.   
  
She fired up her thrusts once again, propelling her towards the ship at breakneck speed. In mid-flight she hit one of the main buttons on her controls, causing a small missile to come out the wrist of her machine. She fired, sending the missile sailing towards her target. Up through the open hanger it flew, past the exiting dolls. It was an inch from colliding within the ship. She grinned, watching the missile's flight path on screen. The explosive met a stopping point and-  
  
Space fizzled out.   
  
"What the hell is this?!" Ashley shouted, throwing off her VR helmet and storming out of her simulation chamber. "We almost won! What's going on?"  
  
Squawks and shouts from Kriss and Anna agreed, while Nicole only groaned, her eyebrow twitching angrily.   
  
Zechs voice came over the intercom to the simulation room. "We're stopping for supplies. We're low on food, toiletries, and our water pressure tank needs to be looked at. We'll probably let the pilots take out their gundams to make sure they're in working order, and we're getting a tune up on our gravity controls while we're at it. We'll be stopped for a few hours, so feel free to look around."  
  
"Where are we anyway?" Anna asked.  
  
"Colony ship. 02." Then Zechs vanished from the window above them.   
  
Ashley took her turn to groan. "I don't want to stop! We were just about through that level! If they don't let us finish the simulation exercises we'll never get to use real gundams!"   
  
Kriss nodded in agreement, but smiled perkily. "Look at it this way! We get to see Duo's natural habitat! Maybe we'll figure out what's wrong with him."  
  
***  
  
Nick exited the Peace Milion and blinked, rubbing his eyes. He blinked a few times more and slapped his cheeks thrice. It was as though he'd stepped into a little slice of America. Buildings were all over. It was like he was standing before another New York. A sort of dome hung in the 'sky,' and many lights hung above everything like many tiny suns.   
  
Behind him her heard the running footsteps of a few people and Kriss' excited squeals. "You guys saw out the window! It's so much like New York! Come on, come on, let's look around! NICK!" Obviously she'd spotted him. "Nick, are you gonna come look around with us?"   
  
He thought for a moment before shaking his head. "No, I think I'm gonna look around by myself a little bit. But how about in an hour and a half we meet right there?" he pointed to a big purple billboard that stood rather low to the ground. "I'll even buy you all lunch!"  
  
The thought of food appealed nicely to the girls, whom all nodded in agreement. Kriss yanked her roommates forward, calling back, "Bye Nick!" as she dashed off into the city, her friends waving as they were dragged away.  
  
The Quatre-look-alike decided to walk towards a park-like area off in the distance. He took to the sidewalk, looking around, taking in everything as he meandered about. He noticed so many accents of home: birds singing in trees, people walking dogs, squirrels darting hither and thither in the grass, butterflies, flowers. So many things he'd never imagined being on a hollow chunk of steel floating in space.   
  
It was almost a little sad. Everything reminded him so much of Earth, with the exception of the silvery metals here and there...that and the planets visible through the huge dome, all the stars and the blackness, despite all the light.   
  
Once he'd reached the center of the park, he sat in the grass under a tall tree. He ran a hand through his sandy hair, staring out at the somewhat small lake spread out before him. He then noticed that there was no wind. The water's surface was perfectly still, besides the splashing of the handful of children playing down by the shoreline.   
  
He sighed, pulling his knees up to his chest, resting his knees upon them. He half-wished he was still on Earth. Sure, it wasn't that great, but it was home to him. Though he had to admit, the last week and a half had been amazing. He was staying on the Peace Milion and could become a pilot, though he wasn't incredibly interested. He had enjoyed learning about the onboard systems and the gundams. Maybe he'd become a professor or something. Why not? Professor Q. It had a nice ring to it.   
  
What was he going to do? He had to earn his keep somehow. He hadn't taken a great interest in doing the simulation exercises. Ah, well. There wasn't much use in worrying about it. Besides, it wasn't like they'd just kick him off the ship if he didn't become a pilot, and if they tried the girls wouldn't let them.   
  
"They may be somewhat abusive friends, but they're still my friends," he said, projecting his thoughts aloud, smiling to himself.   
  
"Abusive friends? If they're abusive, why are you friends with them?" a gentle voice inquired.   
  
He blinked, looking behind him. Near the sidewalk stood a young girl, not much younger than him. She wasn't terribly tall, maybe five foot two, nor was she too intimidating with a somewhat lean build, though she appeared to be able to kick an ass or two. Her hair was a glossy black, cropped off at her chin and covering the left half of her face. Her eyes were a blue-black shade, almost purple. He found himself rather enchanted by those eyes.   
  
"Uh...hello?" The girl stepped closer, snapping her fingers in his face.  
  
Her shook his brown-haired head, blushing. "S-sorry! It's just your eyes are such an unusual color. They're really pretty. I've never seen anything like it."  
  
She blinked then smiled. "Thank you. So, what was that about your friends?" she asked again. "This seat taken?" She pointed to the patch of grass at his right.   
  
He gestured for her to sit, saying, "They can get rather violent once in awhile, and I'm usually the one that gets caught in their wake. It's not often that they're that angry, though. Last time I got beat was when we were jettisoned off to this place. It was PARTIALLY my fault, but they're the ones that pushed me..."  
  
"Huh?" She raised an eyebrow, staring at him quizzically.   
  
"Oh, well, we're not from around here. See, the lot of us was born on Earth, in America, but we had to leave the planet. They stuffed everyone in America on spaceships and were going to put us in cryo-stasis, but Kriss, Nicole, Anna and I were getting our luggage and we put it on an escape pod... Well, we were getting our stuff when we accidentally shot ourselves into space. Then we ran out of life support and passed out, but thank God we were picked up by this passing ship, and that we had our stuff on the pod. They're letting us stay with them, so that's cool. Right now, we're stopped for supplies."   
  
She nodded. "So are we. Wow, I've never met someone from Earth before, though! Is it nice there?" Her violet eyes sparkled with curiosity.   
  
"Yes," he replied, sighing. "I miss the wind especially. All this still air is kind of creepy."  
  
"Mm, yeah. I've never felt the wind, 'least not natural wind, only the kind from fans. What's your name?"  
  
"Nick Dubrovin. What's yours?"   
  
"Shou Mei-Ling. Pleasure to meet you, Nick." She smiled and shook hands with the taller boy. "But just call me Mei," she added.   
  
"Pleasure's mine. So, where're you from?" he asked, twirling a blade of grass between his thumb and forefinger.   
  
"05 colony, though my mom was American. My dad met her here, I think, at this park... Actually, she used to live right around there!" She pointed back towards the city buildings. Her new friend gazed in the direction she pointed, then blinked and frantically checked his watch.  
  
"OH, CRAP!" he yelped.   
  
"What, what?" Mei stood up, quite confused.  
  
"I'm gonna be late! I'm supposed to meet my friends by that billboard in like five minutes! I really have to go, sorry!" With that he darted off at full-tilt boogie toward the large purple rectangle.   
  
Mei-Ling was not one to be left in the dust, so she dashed after him, shouting for the boy to slow down.   
  
***  
  
Kriss stared at her watch irritably. "He's late. I'm hungry. He promised us lunch. If he's not here in five minutes, I'll..."  
  
"KRISSANNANICOLEASHLEYI'MSORRY~!" Nick shouted, running across the street and collapsing at their feet, breathing hard.  
  
Ashley gave him the fish-eye. "We've been waiting. You promised us food, remember?"  
  
He twitched. "Oh, yeah...Eh-heh..."  
  
From across the street came another shout. "DAMN YOU, NICK, I TOLD YOU TO WAIT UP!"   
  
A girl the four roommates did not recognized bounded up and shot their friend a glare.  
  
He twitched. "Sorry...Guys, this is Shou Mei-Ling. I met her down at the park. Mei, this is Kriss, Nicole, Anna, and Ashley." She waved.  
  
"Call me Mei, please," she added.  
  
The other girls all smiled and greeted her. Then Kriss announced boisterously, "I'm hungry! Nick, buy us food now. You promised! And you have to buy for Mei-Mei, too!"  
  
"Mei-Mei?" the Chinese-American girl puzzled.   
  
No one else seemed to take notice of the blonde imp's nickname for the new girl. "Erg, what if my money doesn't work here?" Nick wondered.   
  
"It's an American colony, they gotta take American Earth money!" Anna said. "Let's just go eat! Mei, do you know any place good?"  
  
"Well," she said contemplatively, "I know killer sushi bar-"  
  
Nicole and Kriss screeched with delight.   
  
"...that my aunt Ming owns. She moved her business here from 05 a few years ago, after..." she trailed off.   
  
"After...?" Ashley asked.  
  
"Oh, nothing! Mei said brightly. "Come on, it's this way!"   
  
***  
  
TO BE CONTINUED! XD KEEP READING, DAMN IT! oo; 


	4. That Gundam!

b**DISCLAIMER**/b  
  
I DON'T OWN GW, DAMN IT! lmao. I do own Shou Angela, Shou Chen, the Beijing, Lightfeather Gundam, Diablo/Diablo Custom, Phantom Custom, Lady Wong Shi, and Poseidon Custom, though. XD I think that covers it. Enjoy. :D  
  
bMisplaced in Space - Chapter Four; That Gundam!/b  
  
"Bye everyone!" Mei called from the doorway. "See you later, Auntie!"   
  
"Bye!" called back her new friends, waving her off from their table. The smaller girls' farewells were much more muffled, as their mouths were stuff with eel.   
  
She exited the small building, jogging down the street. She was due back at the Beijing, so she had to hurry. Her father would be utterly pissed if she were late for check in. She turned the corner and broke into a loping run towards the docking bay. It wasn't long before she spotted the Beijing's sleek ebony and silver body and ran down the gangway, into the belly of the ship.   
  
Once inside she slowed her pace, heading down the long ribbed hallway towards the bridge. She was halfway there when she began hearing shouts through the doorway. She distinctly recognized her father's booming voice.   
  
In response she quickened her pace once more and barreled through the doors. "Father?!" she cried, "What's the matter?"   
  
Her father's large, black chair swiveled about to face her. Shou Chen towered above her, his face carved in fury. He was a tall, commanding man, broad of shoulders and thin of hip, built much like an ox. His gray and black hair hung haphazardly about his shoulders, his balding head shining with tiny beads of sweat. His brown eyes blazed with outrage.   
  
"My daughter, it's here! I've found it! I've found the ship!" his voice boomed, gesturing with his arms out the large window ahead.   
  
Outside flew five custom gundams, some sparring together, some flying this way and that in lazy loops. Chen pointed to one in particular, one that Mei knew quite well.   
  
It was THE gundam.   
  
***  
  
"Mommy!" cried a toddler, waddling across the courtyard to her mother. All around grew shoots of bamboo, and before the child and her mother stood a massive oriental-styled building.   
  
"What's the matter, Mei?" her American mother asked, hefting the little one into her arms.   
  
The child squirmed in her arms, pointing to the sky with both hands. "I saw them, Mommy! Look! I saw the robots! ...Someday I wanna ride the robots, too, like you and Daddy!"  
  
The blonde woman laughed. "Someday you will, Mei. We'll teach you how." She gazed up, following the direction her daughter pointed. She then narrowed her eyes. "Mei, go tell Grandmother, okay? I need to get your daddy. These are bad robots." She kissed her daughter and set her down, who nodded and ran off.   
  
Once her daughter was gone, she ran up the steps into their home, calling for her husband. "Chen! Chen, where are you?"   
  
"Angela? Is something wrong?" He poked his head out of his study, blinking at his wife's urgent cries.   
  
"Chen, it's the gundams! They're back!" The young Chen nodded, tossing away his glasses and running out the door.   
  
Once outside, it was quite obvious that news of the enemy gundams had spread. The people of 05 had begun to panic, running towards their shelters. Chen raced towards the fighter docks, his wife hot on his trail. Most citizens parted for their emperor, though some were too frightened to notice.   
  
Just as he'd reached the freight elevator to the fighter hanger, the first shot hit.   
  
BOOM!   
  
The whole colony ship jarred at the impact, sending a few people to the ground. Chen dashed within the elevator with his wife, quickly entering the code for his desired location. Moments later he and Angela were in the hanger, running for their own gundams.   
  
"Fong!" he shouted to one of the mechanics, "Throw us our suits!"  
  
The man nodded, throwing them a couple of space suits and helmets, both of which the couple quickly worked their way into. After that, Lightfeather Gundam and Diablo Gundam were off the ship, along with a few other 05 fighters.   
  
The routine battle ensued, and soon all but one Gundam remained, which was unusual. This gundam was one the colony pilots had never seen before; large, white machine, with bird-like silvery wings. This one was new and seemed to be the leader of the pack now.   
  
"Angela," Chen said, his face appearing on her screen, "I'm going to engage head-on. Go for the rear, okay?" She nodded as her face fizzled off the screen. He turned his attention back to the enemy craft, raising his twin swords menacingly.   
  
The new gundam, unfazed by the Diablo's display of the cutlery, thrust itself forward, colliding with the chest armor of its black-colored opponent. The Diablo was thrown backwards, nearly hitting the bio-dome that defended the colony. Instead the gundam stopped short before rebounding back at its aggressor, slashing repeatedly with the large katanas.   
  
Again, his attempts were in vain, though, as they were batted from his grasp. In place of the swords, he drew a machine gun, firing a volley of shots at the other gundam's visor, which caused the glass to visibly crack open.  
  
As a reply, Chen's damaged opponent kicked one of its large feet back at him.   
  
Annoyed by this childish attack, he opened his vulcan cannon. He quickly powered, firing directly at the blinded gundam.   
  
But then, the gundam powered its thrusters and motored up and away, out of the cannon shot's path. Instead, to Chen's sheer horror, the blast of energy crashed into poor, lilt Lightfeather. The angelic gundam exploded into bits.   
  
Angela was gone.   
  
"NO!" Chen screamed, shielding his eyes from the blindingly bright light. "ANGELAAA!!! YOU SON OF A BITCH!! YOU KILLED HER!!!"  
  
After Angela's death, Mei's father seemed to slowly loose his mind. He began constantly muttering to himself, became prone to fits of violence, and continually spoke of, 'The Gundam.'   
  
Years went by and Emperor Shou's mental illness became more apparent to his daughter, though no one else even seemed to notice. Eventually her father married again and to a true succubus, a pilot warrior called Lady Wong Xi. Xi coerced her father into marriage, sponging off of his mental instability, or so it seemed to Mei. Xi's daughter, Ping, was the same way. Thankfully, Ping married some nobleman and left the 'family' before her stepfather began his most insane project. However, Xi's younger daughter Hebi... oh, Hebi.   
  
A few days after Mei's twelfth birthday, the emperor had ordered a ship to be built, which he would call the Beijing. Chen had become hell-bent on finding that gundam, and the Beijing would be his doorway to finding it. He had the Diablo improved upon, along with Xi's precious Poseidon, and ordered a gundam built for his trainee daughter, which she dubbed Phantom for it's sleek, ghostly appearance. With those he brought along several of his fighter comrades' gundams, along with their pilots.   
  
Once the ship was complete, Emperor Shou took his family and hundreds of 05 army unit gundams (along with their pilots) into space, questing to find that gundam. Four ticked by on that ship, battling whoever contested it, the gundam continuing to elude Chen. Some of his subordinates began to doubt its very existence.   
  
***  
  
"It's there!" Chen cried, staring at the winged gundam, holding his arms up towards it. "Now! Now, it will be destroyed!" he shouted, clenching his fists. "Mei, suit up! Release war unit regiments 'A' through 'E'!"   
  
The princess obediently padded toward the hanger, her father on her heels. Ahead of her there was a swarm of soldiers pouring into the halls ahead of her.  
  
"Now..." she heard him mumble, "Now you're mine, murderer!"   
  
***  
  
Just as the five pilots-in-training had returned to the Peace Milion, the alert sirens had begun to wail. Relena's voice was shouting over the intercoms, "We are under attack, I repeat we are under attack! Do not panic! Gundams 01 through 05 are already out there! Please, report to the mass hall and await further instruction! I repeat..."  
  
"Why the hell are we being attacked?" Ash shouted over the sirens, clamping her ears shut.  
  
Nick shrugged and yelled, "Should we go to the mass hall?" The girls all nodded.  
  
Upon arrival they made a beeline for the window, which revealed the whole fight to them. Several small crafts that resembled doll units were swarming the huge gundams, and several custom gundams, which had already done a number on Sandrock. A red and black gundam, which seemed to be the leader, had just engaged Wing Zero while the others were tangled in with Altron, Deathscythe Hell, and Heavyarms. Two more had begun closing in on the Peace Milion. It was pure chaos, and the G-boys had next to no chance of winning.   
  
Ashley contemplated the situation for a moment before pulling aside her friends. "They need help," she said simply, biting her lip.   
  
"No duh!" Kriss squeaked, wringing her hands nervously, looking back and forth between her friends and the battle outside. Those two gundams were getting awfully close...  
  
Nicole was staring with a great amount of concern at Sandrock's somewhat-mangled form. She tore her eyes away for a second to give her older friend a hard stare. "So, does that mean you're thinking what I'm thinking?"   
  
Ashley replied with a rather psychotic grin. "Exactly. Kriss, do you think you can hotwire a few of those Aries for us?"   
  
The blonde girl's face broke into a grin and she nodded enthusiastically. "I think so! Shouldn't be too much different from hotwiring a car."   
  
The three took off, leaving the two siblings left in the dust. Anna and Nick stared after them, back at each other, then after their friends once more.   
  
"...Are they going to steal some Aries and go out there?" Anna asked, quite confused.   
  
Nick nodded slowly. "I think so..." The two obviously had taken a different train of thought to reach that conclusion.   
  
A few seconds more went by before they screamed for them to wait up.   
  
***  
  
Kriss, Nicole, and Ashley were already outside by the time the two got down to the hanger. Since they sure as hell couldn't figure out how to hotwire some Aries, they went to the weaponry hold. Inside they found a large console with a huge window in front of it. They could see the three tiny Aries motoring towards the battle site from their vantage point. Outside of the console were two very large sets of guns and cannons.   
  
While the two began figuring out the weapons consoles and firing on the enemy gundams, outside the girls had just breached into ground zero. Shots flew this way and that, and the gundams were much larger than the robotic suits the trio had hijacked.   
  
Ashley's face appeared on screen in her friends' Aries. "Are you guys ready?"  
  
Both nodded. "Ready."   
  
And thus, they plunged into the middle of the war zone, each blasting into a different direction. Nicole flew to Sandrock, whom was being pummeled all over again by a large, pink gundam. A high-pitched giggle from Gundam Barbie's pilot picked up on the brunette girl's communications. The sadistic little bitch clearly wasn't very careful about her comm. lines.   
  
Well, now she would make the bitch pay for hurting her favorite bishie, damn it! She fired off a round of explosives, which blew up in the face of Sandrock's torturer. Quickly, she took the opportunity to begin dragging the bashed up gundam back towards the Peace Milion.   
  
Whilst she was going fast as she could tote the behemoth with her meager Aries, Quatre's face appeared on screen. Several cuts and bruises were all over the place and he twitched in pain. Despite his pain, he tried to manage a commanding voice. "Who are you? Identify yourself!"   
  
Nicole sheepishly allowed herself to appear onscreen, waving a bit. "Hi, Quatre. It's just me, Nicole."  
  
"NICOLE!?" the Arabian boy screeched, "What in the name of Allah are you DOING out here? You're not even a real pilot! How'd you get out here? Are you insane? Do you want to get yourself KILLED?!" A strange mix of anger, concern, and gratitude seemed to shine in his eyes.   
  
"Um, well..." she began, "Me, Ash, and Kriss saw you guys out here, and you guys were really getting your tails whipped. No offense, but it's true. So, we stole a few Aries and came out here. I was worried about you, so I came to get you... I'm sorry. Are you mad?"   
  
"...A little," he replied, wincing in pain. "But since you're here, do you think you could go a little faster, please?"  
  
She huffed, "I never! I'm going as fast as I damn well can, it's not my fault that Aries are so tiny and Sandrock is so heavy!"   
  
"Sandrock's not heavy! He's the perfect weight for his size!" the 04 pilot pouted, quite defensive of his gundam.   
  
Above the quibbling pair, Mei flew stealthily. She had spotted the exiting pair and thought they'd make a nice target. The other gundams of the ship were all caught up with one of Beijing's pilots, so she would play with them a bit. Without warning she swooped down, Phantom's huge lance drawn. She delivered a few quick slashes from her black and silver gundam's arms, creating several large gashes in both the gundam and the tiny craft that drug it back towards the ship.   
  
Nicole screamed as the phantom gundam slashed open her Aries as if it were a can of sardines. A red light began blinking frantically within the cockpit, screeching about leaking fuel. The damn gundam must have slashed her fuel tanks! "FUCK!" the imp shouted over the warnings that screeched within the cockpit, almost completely drowning her senses. She whirled around and aimed her arm cannon in the belly of the black machine and fired, sending the mechanical monster flying back several yards, more from surprise than the strength of the cannon's beam. She turned once more and continued motoring towards the ship, the Aries speed dwindling. Ahead of her she spotted a collection of guns on the ship firing past her. It had to be Nick and Anna covering her!   
  
Under their cover fire, she hauled herself back to the hanger of the Peace Milion. The airlock opened up and allowed her in and once the bay door closed she was allowed within the hanger. She pulled the broken Sandrock as far as she could, then opened the cockpit and jumped out. She climbed up the huge gundam to the cockpit, to which Quatre had already opened the door.   
  
"Quatre, Quatre, are you okay?" she cried, gingerly pulling him out of the tiny space. He was damaged much, much more than the communications screen had allowed her to see. "Oh Gods, there's so much blood..." She held him in her lap, some of his blood spilling over and soaking her Capri-length baggy, black shorts, onto her vibrant orange shirt.   
  
Weakly, Quatre lifted a bloodied hand to her face, touching her cheek. "You saved me..." he whispered, before blacking out.   
  
"Quatre!" the short girl screeched. "Quatre you better not die on me!!" As she called for him to wake up, medical personal came and took him away. Behind them were mechanics, ushering her off of Sandrock and using large machines to replace him in his restraints, along with the Aries. The girl was whisked away from the hanger and locked in her room. Behind her soon followed Kriss, Ashley, and Anna, along with promises that they would be dealt with the next day. Shortly after all the explosions outside ceased as that familiar multi-colored light appeared. They'd jumped to somewhere else, away from that gundam-loaded ship.   
  
Once the roommates were left alone for the night, each took a shower in turn and dressed in fresh pajamas before piling on Ashley's bed to discuss the battle.   
  
Nicole shared with them her rescue of the Winner boy and her encounters with the two gundams after Kriss and Ashley spoke of their battles and rescues of more injured pilots. Anna talked about how Zechs had stumbled upon she and Nick in the weaponry hold using the cannons.   
  
"Oh," Ashley added, "Also, I heard what Heero was talking about with that red and black gundam. The red and black one was saying something about how he would have his revenge and that Heero would die for killing his wife twelve years ago."  
  
"That's kind of strange, considering Heero was like three frickin' years old then," Anna said.   
  
"Yeah, I thought so, too," the taller girl agreed.  
  
***  
  
To be continued, yet again! :D 


	5. Evil Nazi Zechs

bMisplaced in Space - Chapter Five; Evil, Nazi Zechs/b  
  
The next morning Nicole got up a little early, combed out her hair and threw on her metallic jeans and her faerie shirt, and then pulled on her turtle socks and black, chunky rave boots. After a few minutes of fiddling with a paper clip in the door controls she made it slide open.   
  
She then slunk down the hall until she found a door with the nameplate 'Q.WINNER' plastered on it. She coughed and knocked shyly on the door. A moment later the door slid open and a strained voice called, "Come in."   
  
She poked her head in the door and bit her lip. Quatre laid somewhat stiffly on his bed, dressed in only a pair of baby blue satin boxers with casts on his right leg and arm, thick bandages wound around his bare chest, and several smaller bandages on his other leg and arm and his face.   
  
She gasped then blushed as she stood in the doorway, both horrified by all those injuries and struck shy by how little clothing he wore. "Er...Well, uh, Hi Quatre!" she stammered, trying not to notice how nice a body he had.   
  
The boy blinked and looked over at her, then yelped and blushed himself. "Uh, Hi Nicole! I wasn't expecting you..."   
  
She tried to shake off the red in her cheeks, smiling broadly. "I just wanted to visit you and see how you're doing! I was a little worried, 'cause you lost a lot of blood."   
  
He smiled back, the red in his own cheeks turning pink. "Oh, well, I'm fine. It's just a broken arm, broken leg, three broken ribs, and a few sets of stitches here and there. Not anything I can't handle," he said nonchalantly. "Thank you for saving me," he added.   
  
She blushed and waved it off. "Don't mention it, it's something anybody would have done."   
  
"Yes, but you did it. I really appreciate it." He blushed red again.   
  
"Well, you're welcome. ...Er, well, I guess I should get going. I have to go get yelled at. See you!" she said, moving for the door.  
  
"Hey, wait!" he called, sitting up painfully in bed.   
  
She turned around, blinking curiously. "Yes?"  
  
"Listen, um...How about you come by again sometime so we can talk more?" he said shyly, smiling up at her.   
  
She could feel the color rising in her cheeks as she smiled back. "Sure...I-I'd like that! ...Bye!" she replied, dashing out the door and down the hall.   
  
***  
  
"WHAT IN HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!" Zechs began as the five teens sat in his office. They had literally just entered the room we he began to scream at them and throwing a book at the wall.   
  
Relena said quietly to her brother, "I thought you said you were going to be calm and patient with them."   
  
"I AM CALM AND PATIENT!" he screamed in her face. The girl quickly backed off. He turned back to the teens, taking in a deep breath before he spoke. "Alright, what possessed you to steal those three Aries?"   
  
Ashley said, "We wanted to help the other pilots! They were getting their asses handed to them! We couldn't just stand by and watch!" The others nodded in agreement.   
  
"And what about the cannons you took control of?" he asked.   
  
"Well," Anna replied, "We were a little late to catch a couple Aries. So, instead we fought from on board.   
  
The Marquise took in a deep breath. "Do you realize what kind of-"  
  
"Yes," all five answered.  
  
"And you know that-"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And-"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And that we could expel you from any piloting training?"  
  
"WHAT?!"   
  
"You can't do that!" Kriss screeched, leaping across the desk and grabbing the collar of his jacket. "Did we or did we not prove that we're bad ass gundam pilots?! You can't just not let us pilot anymore! We haven't even gotten to use real gundams! We haven't even gotten to finish our simulation levels!"   
  
The white-haired man peeled her off his coat, ruffling out the wrinkles. "Yes, I can do that, and yes, you did prove that you can pilot in space quite well. That's why we're not going to expel you from piloting. But, from now on you will be under surveillance constantly until we believe you won't pull a stunt like that again." (They're gonna be under surveillance for a long, long time...)   
  
At that the five were sent back to their rooms, grumbling angrily about evil nazi Zechs.   
  
***  
  
Damn you, Zechs. oo; Sorry about the short chapter, that's just how it turned out. To be continued! 


	6. Duo's Endowment Papa Zechs and his Smurf...

XD This chapter is entirely for fun. It has no impact on the storyline whatsoever, though the characters will learn a thing or two about messing with a certain pair of imps. ^-~  
  
bMisplaced in Space - Chapter Six; Duo's Endowment; Papa Zechs and his Smurf Bitches/b  
  
After only a week of surveillance from the G-boys, the Earth-born teenagers were quite fed up. They were being watched practically night and day. Every time one of them left a room there was a pilot on their tail, and that Saturday was no exception. The impish twins on board had been awakened to their roommates gone, replaced by Duo and Heero. Both girls had groaned wearily and demanded the boys make themselves useful and fetch some food if they were going to hang about.   
  
A few minutes later Duo returned with bowls of cereal, which the girls liquidated and topped with straws and little tropical umbrellas before seating themselves on a rather large mountain of pillows in front of the television, happily watching Kryss' tapes of Invader Zim.   
  
"Doomdoomdoomdoomdoomdoomdoomdoom, DOOOOM!!!" they shriek-sang, bobbing back and forth happily. Heero glared at them whilst Duo only raised an amused eyebrow.   
  
Kryss cackled, jumping from her seat and swinging a pillow. "Let us rain some DOOM on our DOOMED enemies!!" she squealed, bouncing about and ignoring her spilled cereal. "Come, my impish knight!" she called to her brunette friend, "Let us do the dance of DOOM!"   
  
"DOOM!!" Nicole shrieked, jumping up. The two commenced loudly shouting the rhythm of the Macarena, dancing in accordance.   
  
"Hey, Macarena! AYE!" the two yelped, twirling around.   
  
Heero only stared in silence while Duo decided to open his big mouth. "Freaky Earth-born imps..."  
  
The two paused. "What's that supposed to mean?" Kryss questioned, giving him the fish-eye.   
  
"It means you midgets freak me out," he replied, seating himself on the blonde girl's bed, only to be shoved off again.   
  
"...He does have a point," Heero said, "You are midgets..."  
  
The braided wonder laughed. "Damn straight. They wouldn't even have to get on their knees!"   
  
"WHAT?!" the two squawked, glaring daggers at their antagonists.   
  
Heero nodded. "Their height will be a definite handicap in piloting. They won't even be able to see out the windows."   
  
The short ones seethed angrily. "Our heights will be handicaps in piloting? Well, your lengths'll be handicaps in getting LAID!" Kryss screamed, snatching up her cereal bowl and hurling it at the perfect soldier's head.   
  
The Japanese boy caught it easily and tossed it aside while Duo began to fume. "I'll have you know I'm VERY well endowed!" he yelped, pulling at the waistline of his black pants defensively.   
  
The girls only laughed while Nicole moved to Ashley's nightstand and pulled out one of her yaoi doujinshis and flipped to a certain page before throwing it to Duo. After that the girls scampered out of the room as fast as they could.  
  
Behind them they heard the Bakagami screaming, "HEERO, WHAT'RE YOU DOING TO ME?! AND WHY AREN'T I WELL ENDOWED!?"   
  
The two dashed back and stuck their heads in the doorway. "'Cause life sucks, God of Small Penises!" Kryss teased.   
  
Nicole sang, "Heero and Duo, sittin' in a tree! B-U-T-T-F-U-C-K-I-N-G!"   
  
Heero glared and drew his precious gun, muttering, "Omao o koruso."   
  
"GUN!" The insane brunette squealed happily and ran over to him, snatched the gun, and was out the door again with her impish comrade at her side.  
  
***  
  
"Okay, so do we have a deal?" Kryss asked, tugging at Ashley's arm. "You give us the dye, we torture Wufei?"   
  
The taller girl nodded and grinned. "Give me a second..." she said as she commenced searching through her bags. "I know I have a box of food coloring in here…" she muttered, tossing out a few anime tapes before releasing a triumphant cry. "Found it!" she exulted, tossing the blonde girl a small blue box.   
  
The small one cackled and hugged her in thanks before dashing out of the room.   
  
***  
  
"I got it!" Kryss yelped as she dashed into the kitchen.   
  
Nicole turned from the large pot of vinegar behind her, grinning. "Pour it in! I'm finished drugging their dinner."   
  
Her impish friend cackled evilly as she tore open the tiny box and pulled out the blue bottle. She twisted off the cap and dumped all its contents into the cauldren. The brunette laughed with her, forking over a spoon.   
  
Outside in the mass hall they began to here voices. One stuck out distinctly as Duo's, wailing about wanting dinner.   
  
"That's my cue!" Nicole chimed, grabbing her platter of dinners. She exited their little laboratory and scurried towards the table where the gundam pilots sat. Confused looks from the group greeted her. She blushed and explained, "See, me and Kryss felt bad for being mean earlier, so we decided to fix dinner for you guys!" At that she placed the drugged plates in front of Duo, Heero, Wufei, and Zechs. "Well, eat up!" she said cheerily as she dashed back to her companion.   
  
Kryss poked her head out the door as her partner in crime dashed in. "They're eating it!" she reported gleefully, rubbing her hands together.   
  
"Excellent," the brunette girl purred, seating herself on a bar stool. "The box said it takes about half an hour for the pills to kick in. Are the costumes ready?"   
  
"Yes!" she cackled, holding up an assortment of white dresses and a pair of red pants. "I will enjoy this..."   
  
After about a half hour Quatre took his crutches and painfully pulled himself up from the table. "I'll see you all later. I want to see Sandrock before I retire...See you in the morning!" the blonde boy said cheerfully before hobbling out the mass hall. A few minutes later Trowa had left as well.   
  
The rest of the boys sat together at the table, finishing off their meals. They had begun engaging in conversation when the lot of them had dropped off, diving headfirst into their plates.   
  
"Yes, they're out!" Kryss cackled, dashing out of the kitchen with the dresses and pants. Nicole followed in her wake, hefting the large pot of dye.   
  
"Now...Let's make them...Pretty.." the blonde guffawed.   
  
***  
  
The next morning Kryss rose early, shaking her roommates awake. Once Nicole was up the two ushered the older girls about and out the door, stopping off at Nick's room to drag him along.   
  
"Why the hell did you get us up?" Anna whined as she was drug down the hall.   
  
"We have to show you somethiiiing," Nicole urged, tugging her towards the mass hall.   
  
"It better be good," she muttered as the group arrived inside the cafeteria area. Then they all stopped short, at a loss for words. The vertically challenged duo burst into a fresh fit of giggles upon sight of their work.   
  
Lying on the table were Heero, Wufei, Duo, and Zechs, all of them dyed a vibrant blue. The three youngest wore frilly white dresses and blonde wigs, accompanied by white sock-hats and rather large pairs breasts, composed entirely out of grapefruits. Heero had his gun tucked in the chest of the dress. The nazi dictator that had put the pilot trainees under surveillance wore red pants and boots, along with a red sock-hat. A cloud of white cotton had been glued to his chin, and he held the three boys in his arms.   
  
"It's...it's...It's like...Papa Zechs and his Smurf Bitches!" Ashley laughed, gasping for air.   
  
Once the group had calmed themselves, the young men had begun to awaken, which brought on a whole new round of laughter, along with a symphony of screams and death threats.   
  
***  
  
XD That's it! Were you amused? XD Yeah, it's a little short I guess, but I enjoy it. I'm gonna try to write more and have one or two more chapters up tonight. 


	7. Revenge is Best Served with a Side of La...

*cackles* A very fun, evil, and disgusting chapter. You've been warned. XD  
  
Zechs: I don't like this...  
  
Quatre: It doesn't bother me, they don't hurt me...  
  
Nicole: Of course not. XD *cuddles Quatre* Anyway...XD ENJOY!  
  
bMisplaced In Space - Chapter Seven; Revenge is Best Served with a Side of Laxatives!/b  
  
"I swear to God, I'll kill them," Duo growled as he began shampooing his hair for the seventh time that morning. The blue in his hair and skin had barely begun to fade. "What the hell kind of dye did those psychos use anyway?!" He'd been standing in the shower trying to wash away the blue dye for nearly an hour since he'd awoken in Zechs' arms. That was the absolute most disturbing experience he'd ever had.   
  
Once he and the other boys had gotten off the table and Zechs had screamed that they'd be under surveillance now until they died and for ten years after that, Duo had stormed back to his room and into the shower, where he had begun formulating plots for revenge.  
  
He would have the last laugh. Oh, yes.   
  
***  
  
"If he won't lighten up on the surveillance, then we'll just have to piss him off more," Kryss said firmly, nodding for emphasis. With that she shook her can of pink spray paint and sprayed the image of a little demon onto the black leg of Deathscythe Hell. She let loose a witch-like cackle as she defaced the large machine while Ashley only placed a woopie cushion in Altron's cockpit, claiming she didn't have the heart to damage the gundam.   
  
Once they had finished defacing gundams, the pair headed back towards the computer simulator. Inside Nicole and Anna were battling it out.   
  
The brunette imp twirled around her cyber-gundam, firing off her Vulcan cannon, and in response Anna blasted her thrusters and flew under the beam, ramming her opponent. The force of the hit shook Nicole's simulation chamber and she motored backwards, drawing a thermo-blade. With a quick slice she created a large, molten gash in the chest plate of Anna's cyber-gundam, which then exploded.   
  
"Gyaha!" the younger girl crowed, exiting her simulation chamber. "I win!"   
  
Anna had begun to growl and was near to strangling the vertically challenged victor when screams rang out from down the hallway. Ashley and Kryss looked at each other a moment before exploding with laughter whilst grabbing their friends and rushing out into the hall, taking off in separate directions to escape the enraged pilots.   
  
Back in the hanger, Duo stomped back and forth, his face puffed with red, his long braid swishing to and fro at his back. He looked a bit like a red blowfish with a braid. I'll kill them," he muttered, storming back towards D-Hell. It was painful just glancing for a millisecond at the little pink demon-elves and graffiti that disfigured his poor gundam. Above him he faintly heard Wufei scream of injustice and onna woopie cushions, though he didn't really pay it any mind He had much bigger plans. Revenge would be on the menu tonight.   
  
With that he called Wufei down from Altron and hurried out into the hall, picking up Heero along the way. Before long they had reached Zechs' office and crowded around the white-haired man's desk.   
  
"Justice must be served!" Wufei said firmly.  
  
***  
  
Duo quietly pushed open the door, trying his best to avoid a creek. He peeked inside the girl's room, looking cautiously about for one of them. He turned and looked back at the other pilots, waving them forward. He then tiptoed silently inside and over to Ashley's nightstand, pulling out those damned comics that depicted him as both subservient to Heero and poorly endowed. Well, he would fix that. He brandished a black ink pen and began flipping through the pages, lengthening his little buddy wherever possible.  
  
Meanwhile, Wufei moved to Kryss' closet and pulled out everything darkly colored. Before long she was left with nothing but a pink shirt in the very back and her Mokona jammies. Heero swiped all of Nicole's sketchbooks and diary, along with her prized black vinyl coat and her dark clothing, plus her white bucket hate that read 'shorty' in a green graffiti design.  
  
As for Anna, the innocent bystander caught in the crossfire...She suffered the loss of all her normal clothing, replaced with dresses. Big, frilly, ugly dresses...a fate worse than death.   
  
***  
  
Once they were sure they'd lost the pilots, the four girls merrily returned to their room. Kryss and Ashley were quite pleased with their earlier work, and now all of Zechs' whites had been dyed a carnation pink shade, due to the "accidental" addition of a red bra to his wash. All in all it had been a very productive day.   
  
Ashley sighed and flopped on her bed. "And now...to top off the evening...A little Heero on Duo action," she cheered, moving to fish through her nightstand.  
  
"That's just weird," Anna said with a twitch, "I mean, you're living on the same ship with them and you're still looking at your doujinshis?"   
  
"Damn straight," the taller girl purred, "I'm a thorough bred girl with very natural urges." At that she laughed as she continued searching through the drawers for her prized yaoi. After a few moments she started getting frantic before she leaped up and screamed. "THEY'RE GONE!!" she wailed.   
  
"So are my sketchbooks!" Nicole shrieked from her corner of the room, flopping onto the floor sadly. "And so is my jacket and my cool clothes!"   
  
Kryss screamed with rage herself, "ALL MY GOOD CLOTHES ARE GONE!! SHINEE!!!"   
  
Anna could only stare at the contents of her closet. After awhile she finally spoke. "Dresses...They left me...Dresses...DRESSES...THEY LEFT ME WITH MOTHERFUCKING DRESSES! SATAN IS IN MY CLOSET! SATAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!" she ranted, grabbing up the dresses and throwing them across the floor before she began stomping upon them over and over. "They must DIE! DIE! DRESSES BAD! BAD, BAD, BAD!! SATAAAAAN!!!" The other girls pulled her off the defenseless dresses.   
  
And it was thus decided. This was a war. A war...of the genders! (Nick sort of counts as a girl. XD)   
  
***  
  
Anna looked back and forth in the mass hall, then back at her friends. "It's clear. Go, go!"   
  
The three girls nodded, rushing toward the kitchen. Nicole and Kryss took the frontline and ran defense, dashing into the small cooking area first.   
  
"OOGA-BOOGA, MISTER COOKY-MAN!" the blonde cackled, leaping into the air and snatching away the largest chef's hat. "C'mon, fatso! Come and get it!" she taunted, waving it back and forth.   
  
"You little twit, come back here!" the large man roared, barreling towards the girl, his rolls of fat jiggling in rhythm with his thundering run.   
  
"That's right, thunder-thighs, this way!" she laughed, zipping out the door.   
  
Once big-boy had gone after her friend, Nicole barged in and grabbed a bowlful of salad and threw it in the air, screaming about it raining lettuce. She then moved to the counter and knocked off an assortment of vegetables and kicked them around the floor. She then picked up a rather rotten apple and threw it at the back of a tall, then chef's head. He and the remaining other two chefs glared at her and screamed curses as she continued terrorizing the small room before she grabbed a rather large butcher knife and ran out the door, shrieking, "KILL, KILL!!" with the disturbed chefs hot on her trail.   
  
Once they'd gone, Ashley slipped in, holding a bottle of pills. She slunk over to the boiling pot of stew at the stove and screwed off the cap of the small bottle and dumped a few pills in, watching the little capsules dissolve into the soup.   
  
She stirred the pot's contents carefully, and then left once more. Just as she'd gotten outside the chefs were marching back, the plump one without his hat, and all minus one large knife. The dark-haired girl snickered and went out into the hall, where she met her two impish friends. Kryss was happily examining the knife, while Nicole wore the chef's hat.   
  
"It's done," she said with a grin. "Nice diversion."  
  
Kryss blinked in confusion. "Diversion? That was just for fun!" Her brunette comrade nodded in agreement, a broad smile on her face.  
  
The tall girl only shook her head as Anna and Nick came strolling up. "Are we ready for phase two?" Anna asked.   
  
The trio of troublemakers nodded and grinned. The two 'siblings' took their cue and headed into the mass hall and over towards the kitchen.   
  
"Excuse me?" Nick said politely.   
  
The tall, thin chef stuck his head out the door. "What do you want?"   
  
"Ah, we're here to take the pilots their dinner. They're having a rather important meeting and we thought we'd take them dinner!" Anna replied. Her 'brother' nodded for emphasis.   
  
"Hmm...I suppose it's all right. Hey, Pedro!" he called.  
  
A stout chef appeared a moment later. "Yes, Boss?"   
  
"Get that pot of soup and some bowls and spoons. These kids are gonna take the pilots their dinner," the boss ordered.   
  
Before too long the small man appeared once more with the desired items. Nick took the pot, Anna the bowls and spoons, and both hurried off.   
  
It did not take very long for the two to distribute the tainted soup to the pilots that had thieved the girls' prized items.   
  
Within his office Zechs sniffed at his bowl of soup, then licked his lips and spooned a little into his mouth. "Mm, this is good stuff!" he said happily, spooning up more of it.   
  
***  
  
"OOOOOH, GOD!" Duo groaned, sitting uncomfortably upon his 'throne.' "What was wrong with that soup?"   
  
Outside his door was Kryss, listening and snickering. Finally she raised her voice, saying, "Having fun, Bakagami?"   
  
He let out a half-groan, half-scream. "I should've known!"   
  
Standing outside next door, Ashley snickered. She was listening to Wufei groan in pain and sickness, along with a rather disgusting symphony of gaseous sounds and plops, followed by the flushing of a toilet. Even further down the hall more of those same sounds could be heard, along with the other girls teasing the rest of the victims.   
  
"So, are you gonna tell us where you hid our stuff?" Ashley asked, turning over the bottle of laxatives in her hand, half-heartedly reading over the description of the pills. "Guaranteed to clear up blockage...Hm, that doesn't sound pleasant..."   
  
Duo groaned at her, "I hate you!"   
  
The tall one only laughed. "If you guys talk I'll give you medication to make this stop."   
  
"Do we really have some medicine like that?" Kryss asked in a whisper.   
  
"No," she hissed back, "But they might tell us if we bait them."  
  
***  
  
Ashley happily flipped through a 1x2 doujinshi while her roommates restocked their closets with their own clothing and threw all those dresses out an airlock. Nick had settled himself on the floor in front of the television, mooching off of the girl's supply of anime.   
  
From far down the hall they heard Zechs cry, "ARE YOU SURE THIS WILL FIX IT?" The four girls looked at each other before bursting into giggles.  
  
Anna choked out something about how evil they were while Nicole yelled back, "YES, WE'RE SURE! JUST RUB A LITTLE MORE LIP GLOSS ON YOUR BODY AND KEEP THE TAMPON IN!"   
  
***  
  
That's it. XD Aren't we EVIL!?!? *cackles*   
  
Zechs: I think I'm gonna cry...  
  
Nicole: Shut up, men don't cry. Don't give me that crap. XD *steals gun* Muahaha... oo; Anyway. Chapter eight will be out soon enough! XD JA! 


	8. Well, That's Unusual

Well, we're getting back to the plot now! YAY!! ^^ Enjoy!  
  
bMisplaced in Space - Chapter Eight; Well, That's Unusual/b  
  
Ashley skated down the hall way as quickly as possible, Kryss following on her skateboard. The two had just successfully ditched their 'babysitters' as they'd come to call the pilots with all that surveillance. They turned and skated off in separate directions, and just as they did so Ashley found herself skating right into Wufei. She twitched and looked up into his still-blue face...then burst out laughing.   
  
He glared down at her. "What? What's so funny?"   
  
"Y-y...your...your face!" she panted out, holding her stomach. "It's still blue!"   
  
The boy sniffed indignantly. "It's a very strong dye."   
  
"Obviously!" she giggled. "Need help?"  
  
"What would I need help with?" he asked.  
  
"Getting that blue off your face!"   
  
He grumbled. "I need no help."   
  
"Fine, have fun, Blue Boy!" she said with a laugh, turning to skate off. "But I have something that will take that blue off!"   
  
He blinked and grabbed her by the arm. "Really?! Give it to me!"   
  
She stared at him for a moment before twisting away and glaring at him. "How rude! Besides, a man doesn't need help from a WOMAN right? 'Cause my place is in the fucking KITCHEN, right?" With a turn on the heel of her skate she turned and rolled away.   
  
"You know, it's not help! It's, um...It's the natural order of things!" he shouted back.   
  
"BULLSHIT!" she yelled over her shoulder as she skated around and wheeled down the hall.  
  
Wufei grumbled something about onna bitches as he turned and stormed off in the opposite direction, walling himself up in his room.   
  
At the sound of his door shutting, Ashley stopped. She then turned and skated back to his door. From her pocket she pulled a bottle of makeup remover and knocked on his door, then skated away back down the hall.   
  
He blinked from inside his room and opened the door. "Hello? Uh, hello?" The Chinese boy looked around outside, seeing no one. He then looked down and spotted the small bottle and picked it up. Once he read the label, he smiled. "Onna..."   
  
***  
  
"Nicole!" Quatre called, powering his crutches as quickly and carefully as humanly possible down the hall after the girl he was supposed to be responsible for. Personally, he didn't see why the new kids needed so much surveillance since the Aries-swiping fiasco, but he wasn't about to ask questions. Zechs was a real hard ass, and questioning his orders was suicide.   
  
"Nicole!" he repeated as he finally caught up to her, placing a scraped hand upon the girl's shoulder. "Now I've got you!" he said, smiling with a touch of aloof triumph in his voice.   
  
The brunette turned and sighed. "Yeah, you've got me," she grumbled. "You have no idea how much it sucks having people right on your ass all day! I'm lucky I don't have you guys following me into the shower."   
  
He blinked his sparkling blue eyes before laughing quietly. "You don't like having us around?"   
  
"Oh, no, it's not that," she replied as they started down the hall once more. "You're all very nice to us, and you've been so hospitable. Plus, you have no idea how fun it is being around some of your favorite anime characters. ...Well, actually, I guess you're not really anime characters to us anymore, are you?" She chuckled and poked him. "Yup, you're all very real."   
  
He nodded in agreement as the pair turned the corner. "You hungry?" he asked as they came up on the mass hall.   
  
"Yeah, a little. Let's eat!" The short girl moved through the mass of mechanics and Peace Milion staff on break to the line.   
  
Before long she and her babysitter (appointed a-la-Nazi) had collected whatever concoction those wily chefs were serving and seated themselves at a semi-secluded table beside the large window that covered the majority of the wall across from the mass hall entrance.   
  
Once he'd sat, Quatre let out a long sigh. Nicole giggled as she poked at her lunch. "Tired already?"   
  
The blonde boy smiled, looking up from his plate. "I'm fine, thanks to you. I really can't thank you enough for what you did..."   
  
She waved it off and stuffed a chunk of something resembling a tater tot into her mouth. "It was nothing. I was glad to do it," she said modestly around the chunk of what was alleged to be food.   
  
"I really appreciate what you did though..." he half-whispered.   
  
"Oh, it's nothing anyone else wouldn't have done!" she insisted.   
  
He shrugged and sipped at his glass of iced tea. "But you know you all broke the rules to come help us...Not everyone would have done that for us..."   
  
"Well, it's not like we could just stand by and watch. We're not the sort of people to do that," she stated, holding up her forking as if for emphasis of her point. "Besides, what were we supposed to do? Stand by and watch you all get creamed? I mean, we all really admire you guys and what you've done out here! You're all so young and fighting like that...I always wished I had something to work for like that. Though it's kind of sad how you guys essentially gave up your youth and innocence..." She sighed wistfully. "That takes real drive. Real dedication, you know?"   
  
His face broke into a slow, somber smile. "You're quite a thinker, aren't you? You read into things very well...I think you have the makings of an excellent pilot...all of you could be great pilots. You'll have no trouble with the new gundams... Erm!" He slapped his good hand over his mouth.   
  
His lunch-mate raised her eyebrows in surprise and curiosity. "Did you say 'new gundams'?"  
  
"Um, ah, no! No, I didn't! I said...Um...I said..." he blushed, cursing himself under his breath. "I should go!" he said with a nod. "I'll, um...I'll see you later!" He pushed himself up, took his crutches and hobbled away as though little fiery hell-spawn demons were on his heels.   
  
Nicole could only sit in bewilderment, puzzling over the young Arabian's odd behavior. "Well...that was unusual..." she mused, polishing off her meal.   
  
***  
  
"Damn it, watch where you're going!" an angry mechanic shouted, shaking his fist after the girl on skates who had just run over his poor foot.   
  
"Sorry!" Ashley called over her shoulder, rolling into the hanger. She glided past a few mobs of mechanics and engineers still working on repairs from the latest scuffle, stopping near the end of the rows in front of Wufei's precious Nataku.   
  
I wonder, she thought, I wonder if you know I'm here? I wonder if you can hear me...  
  
Of course I can! she heard within her skull.  
  
The girl looked this way and that, quite puzzled, as no one was near her. "Who said that?"   
  
I did! came the reply within her mind.   
  
"Nataku...Are you talking to me?" she asked, feeling somewhat ridiculous speaking to the oversized robot.   
  
The voice came again, this time somewhat offended. Of course I am! You think just because I'm composed mostly of steel that I can't speak? And I'm NOT an oversized robot!   
  
She rubbed her eyes, staring up at her. "How...why...how is it I can understand you?!"   
  
I'm not sure, really...Perhaps we're similar somehow? In personality? the gundam replied with a voice that seemed to imply a shrug in there somewhere.   
  
"We're...alike?" she shook her head, ruffling her short, fluffy bangs. "This is nuts...totally nuts... Look, I uh...I'm going to go, okay Nataku?"  
  
Alright...Visit me again, will you? I don't get to talk to maybe people other than Wufei... the voice 'said', sounding somewhat lonesome. Oh, and don't be so hard on Wufei..., it continued, He's told me about some of the things you said after what he did...You were right to be angry, but Wufei's just...I suppose he doesn't think things through very well...Anyway, don't be so hard on him...He's actually quite fond of you. He told me so.  
  
"W-what?! YEAH RIGHT! That sexist pig!" Ashley squeaked out, rolling backwards, her face beet red. She twirled around, grumbling to herself, "I'm going nuts...totally nuts...Stupid gundams...I'm talking to a gundam..." She shook her head and continued grumbling at herself until she was back out into the halls, skating at a rather quick pace and close to one side due to oncoming traffic. She was headed down the long hall of quarter-rooms, staring at the floor when, just as she had looked up from studying the metal tile, a door had opened right in front of her.   
  
SMACK!!  
  
Before she knew it she was flat on her ass, holding her nose and yowling with pain. "OUCH, WHAT THE FUCK HIT ME?!" she bellowed.   
  
From behind the door appeared Wufei's head. His eyes went wide and he was at her side. "I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"   
  
She shook her head and, both hands on her bleeding nose, she haphazardly lumbered to her feet and skated away down the hall. "This hurt's like a mother..." she whined as she shoved open the door to the medical bay.   
  
Nearly a half hour later she was out skating yet again, this time an attractive band of white over the bridge of her nose and an attractive shade of bluish-purple in the center of her face. She hurriedly went by Wufei in the halls, who caught only a glimpse of her nose.   
  
"Whoa..." he breathed. "I broke the onna's nose!"   
  
***  
  
Anna, Kryss, and Nicole all looked up in unison as their roommate came barging in the door looking very, very, displeased, and it wasn't long before the group noticed her newest fashion.   
  
Then came the barrage of questions, worry, and sardonic commentary.  
  
"Ash, what happened?"  
  
"Did someone hurt you?"  
  
"I bet it was Wufei! That bastard!"  
  
"Woman hater!"  
  
"Isn't he one of the misunderstood ones?"  
  
"Doesn't matter! He's a bastard!"  
  
"So, did you and Wufei get into a spat?"   
  
"Aw, lovers' quarrels..."  
  
"That's so cute...Excuse me while I vomit."   
  
"Who won?"  
  
"Well, judging by appearances..."  
  
"Doesn't mean anything. She could have fucked him up worse."  
  
"I agree. She could have castrated him."  
  
"True!"  
  
"Looks like he broke her nose, that abusive bastard whom is watched over by the God of Small Penises."  
  
"Damn oriental little punk-ass bitch."   
  
"Damn, karma's a harsh mistress..."   
  
"Yeah, looks like it really whipped her."  
  
"You're karma's slut now, Ashy. I sorry."   
  
The three kept talking, but she stopped listening. Why bother? The chatter wouldn't heal her nose, and it wouldn't change the fact that she was going fucking ape. Oh, well, Could've been worse.  
  
A moment later she heard the door open and Nick's voice, followed by more sarcasm. Great, now she had four little chatterboxes discussing her new accessories.   
  
"Hey, guys, since you're all here, guess WHAT!" Nicole said suddenly, interrupting their rambling conversation.   
  
"What?" Nick asked, the other girls only watching expectantly.  
  
"I was having lunch with Quatre today-,"  
  
"AWWW!" the three gushed.  
  
"How cute!"  
  
"Did he ask you out?"  
  
"...I was having lunch with Quatre today and we got to talking," she continued, ignoring their comments, "and he mentioned something about new gundams! And he said how he thought we'd be great pilots!"  
  
Ashley sat up at that. "Really?"   
  
"Yes, really! Maybe they're building us new gundams!" the small girl said happily, her brown eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.   
  
Maybe everything wasn't so bad after all...  
  
***  
  
Yup, that's it. Intriguing, no? Doesn't Ash have great friends? XD 


	9. Everybody's Insane, Damn It

^_^; Mwee...  
  
bMisplaced in Space - Chapter Nine; Everybody's Insane, Damn It/b  
  
She was insane. That was it. She was totally insane. How could she have let them talk her into this? And yet, there Anna stood. Right in front of the door to Zechs' office, holding what the others had called a peace offering...a tray of sushi, a stuffed polar bear, and a card, which had been homemade; after all, they had to make peace on a budget.   
  
Finally after all their pranks the teens had finally decided to try sweet-talking Zechs into lightening up on the surveillance. When deciding on whom to do the talking, her four companions had automatically elected her.   
  
"Besides," Nicole had pointed out, "You're the one who wants his man-meat."   
  
The shorthaired girl sighed, ruffling her red and black mane. "I just get no respect," she muttered as she reached up to knock upon the large double doors. Before she could knock the door had flown open, and there above her stood Zechs, decked out in his usual attire, though she tried to ignore the fact that his white pants had turned a quite girly shade of pink.   
  
At first his face was hard, cold as ice. Once he realized who had come to his door, his look softened a bit. "Hello."   
  
She blushed a bit, staring up at the tall man. She had never noticed just how tall the Marquis really was. After a moment she noticed he was giving her a funny look and shook her head. "Er, um, hi! The others have a peace offering for you..." She cringed as she held up the basket full of eclectic items.   
  
He looked down at the odd assortment of items. "...A peace offering?"   
  
"Um, yeah," she answered his rhetorical question, pointing out the different items. "Kryss and Nicole got you some sushi, the bear's from Ashley, and me and Nick made you the card." She picked up the construction-paper token, which held their words of apology for all their trouble making and handed it to him.   
  
Once the white-haired man had read the card he walked over to his desk and seated himself. "So what's the catch?" he asked, eyeing his visitor.   
  
"Stop babysitting us?" she suggested. Subtle Anna, she thought, real subtle.   
  
Zechs chuckled and shook his head. "Not going to happen. I'm not going to risk anything with you kids."  
  
"You know they'll keep causing trouble if you keep them under surveillance. More so than if you let them have their freedom and privacy," she countered, seating her self in the chair across from him. "Or haven't you noticed how pink your pants have become and how much damage they've been doing since you've installed your little surveillance rules?"   
  
Zechs shrugged his broad shoulders, crossing his legs in a rather formal manner. "I can't have them stealing gundams like that."   
  
She rolled her eyes. "Why not just give us access to them?"   
  
"I won't have it! Coming in here trying to look all cute and persuade me to thinking your way is not going to work," he said firmly.   
  
Anna's cheeks flamed. "Cute...?" she mumbled then shook off her blush and looked up. "Fine, have it your way!" she spat, standing and moving for the door.   
  
"Anna?" he called as she opened the door.   
  
"Hmm?" She turned her head, holding the door open for her escape.   
  
He cleared his throat a bit, "Perhaps I'll see you at dinner tomorrow night, since the other pilots are a bit swamped with your trouble making roommates?"   
  
That red color flew to her cheeks once more. "Um...maybe..." she mumbled before taking her leave.   
  
Once the door had closed behind her, her four friends had pounced upon her to learn the details of her meeting with the nazi.   
  
***  
  
Now she was just beyond insane. How could she be doing this? She looked back at her roommates and sibling, whom waved her forward. She exhaled and looked down for the millionth time at the little black dress they had forced her into, grumbling angrily. "I need to kill something..." Anna would have much preferred to go with them... No sense worrying about it now. Besides, she was going to have dinner with Zechs! How many girls would ever be able to boast that?   
  
With a deep inhalation of precious oxygen, she walked into the mass hall and blinked in surprise. All of the usual nighttime mechanics and Maganacs were gone. The tables were gone, the buffet was gone, and the whole cafeteria was immaculate. Only Zechs, some candles, the view of the stars, and a table set for two remained.   
  
An uncommon shade of red flamed up on Zechs' cheeks...or perhaps it was only an illusion cast by the flickering candlelight? He strolled across the floor, his black boots clicking on the darkened tile. "Hello," he breathed.   
  
The girl squirmed a bit. What in the hell had she just stumbled into? ...A date? With ZECHS?!  
  
***  
  
"This is excellent," Kryss cackled, steepling her fingers. "Now will Anna enchants the nazi with her non-nazi feminine wiles n' such, we will have run of the place!"   
  
"And I have the perfect plan!" Ashley laughed, ushering her companions down the hall.   
  
"...What're we doing in the hanger?" Nick asked once they had reached their destination, looking around, then back to their tall companion.   
  
"What're we doing? ...We're going out for a little joyride!" She let loose a whoop and bound over to Altron.   
  
The other girls exploded into a volley of giggles, shoving Nick over towards Sandrock in chase they needed a decoy Quatre to cover for them.   
  
As she watched her friend crawl into Sandrock's cockpit Nicole thought cheerfully, Hope you don't mind the change in pilots, Sandrock...  
  
I don't mind much...But I would have preferred you to pilot me..., she heard. Her eyes went wide as she stared up at the massive 04 gundam, her body stiffening. Could that gundam be speaking to her...? No way! She shook it off, closing the cockpit behind Nick.   
  
After the impish twins had scurried over to Wing Zero and Deathscythe Hell, the four were out the hanger, through the airlock, and in space.   
  
"Hey! Watch THIS!" Kryss squealed. Then a collection of small nearby asteroids had exploded.   
  
"Sweet..." her brunette counterpart purred, blasting apart a larger asteroid with Wing Zero's Vulcans.   
  
While the young girls amused themselves by making rocks explode, Ashley whirled in circles, testing the limits of Wufei's precious Nataku. "C'mon, Natty-baby, let's really fly!" she squealed, pushing the mecha to the brink of it's speed, whirring past Nicholas, whom was quite contented swinging about Sandrock's thermo dagger this way and that.   
  
As the four were warming up to the gundams, a sudden ringing sound emitted from the communication controls in each of their hijacked gundams.   
  
"Shit! It's the fuzz!" Nicole yelped.   
  
"NICK! BE QUATRE!" Kryss screamed to the boy.   
  
After the other girls had screamed at him a moment more he grudgingly answered the hail. On his screen appeared a rather elderly-looking man in a mechanic's uniform.   
  
"Ah, Mr. Winner!" the man croaked, a smile chiseling into his old-as-dirt face.   
  
Nick smiled his best Quatre smile. "Hello, sir. We were just out for a bit of, ah, exercise."   
  
He blinked. "Oh? Well, carry on...And, well, excuse me, but...Is your hair darker?"   
  
The boy flushed. "Ah, er, no! It's just, uh, one of the lights is out in the cockpit. Yeah! I'll need to have that repaired when I get back. Could you please have that taken care of?"   
  
"Of course, Mr. Winner...Well, I hope you and the other pilots enjoy your exercise..." the mechanic said cheerfully, tipping his hat to the young boy.   
  
Nick bowed his head, clicking off the communications. Immediately after he'd done so he took a look around the cockpit then reached under the seat and pulled out a wrench, standing in his seat and reaching back, smashing one of the light bulbs to pieces whilst the girls began causing more explosions.   
  
And Nicole could have sworn she heard a voice muttering, 'Ouch.'   
  
***  
  
Zechs looked up from his meal and out the window. "Did I just hear an explosion...?"   
  
Anna nearly choked on a piece of meat at that, gagging a bit before swallowing hard. "Ah...an explosion? I didn't hear anything!"   
  
"I'm sure I heard something...There, again! Where's that coming from?" the white-haired man moved to stand.   
  
"No, I'm sure it's nothing!" she assured him, patting the top of a gloved hand, causing him to tentatively sit down.   
  
Once he'd settled into his mean again, a loud 'BOOM!' sounded, and Zechs growled with agitation. "It has to be those damn kids!" he grumbled, moving to stand again.   
  
"I didn't hear anything! I really think you're losing it, Zechs...HEY, LOOK!" she said perkily, holding up a breadstick with an odd pair of round appendages coming out one end of it. "It looks like a penis!"   
  
He looked back down at her, a bemused expression mixed with a tinge of confusion and a dash of fear before bursting into laughter. A full resounding laugh emanated from him, and just as it began to reach its climax another explosion sounded and destroyed his newfound good humor.   
  
As Anna tried to think up another diversion she spotted Wing Zero and Deathscythe Hell coming into the view of the mass hall window and gulped hard. And as luck would have it, just then Zechs began to turn.   
  
Okay, so she was insane. She was also not about to let her friends be caught swiping the G-boys' gundams. She stood and snatched the collar of Zechs' coat, pulling him to lean over the table, his face near her own. Then she kissed him.   
  
At first, Zechs was in a state of shock, then his senses began to numb, with the exception of the feel of Anna's lips against his. He had forgotten about playing it cool, slick, and unfeeling, giving into the more primal part of him. He gently ran his fingers through her hair, pulling her around the table and closer to his body.   
  
The red and black haired girl sighed into his lips, sliding her arms beneath his coat and around his waist. Way to play it cool, Anna..., she thought, just as red sirens sounded and Relena's voice came over the loudspeaker.   
  
"That ship is back!"   
  
***  
  
"Let's GO!" Duo shouted almost gleefully, tearing down the hallway toward the hanger. In his wake were the other four pilots, all of them struggling to keep up with the shinigami. Then, once they'd gotten there, four nice, empty spaces where four nice, large gundams should have been greeted them.   
  
Heero, Wufei, Duo, and Quatre could only stare in shock, while Trowa muttered dejectedly, "What's wrong with Heavy Arms?"   
  
While the gundam-less pilots stared in shock and Trowa pouted, outside the pilot trainees were in a bit of a spot, to say the least. The group of gundams from before poured from the belly of the opposing ship, spilling out around the group.   
  
"Ash," Nick said irritably, "I'm not enjoying this joyride anymore. I'm blaming this on you if they punish us. Again."   
  
"Same here," the other girls chirped.   
  
The onna only grumbled in response, picking at the white strip across the bridge of her nose. "Well, we can't do anything now. We just have to try and get out of this alive, okay?"   
  
"Alive sounds good to me..." Nick muttered, just as a large, snake-like gundam lashed out at him. He hissed a curse, wheeling backwards as the viper-gundam bore its mechanical fangs, a spray of bullets pummeling into Sandrock's shield.   
  
As he began his tango with the snaky gundam, the girls were pounced upon by a quartet of humanoid gundams; a blue-green one they hadn't seen before, the black and silver one, the black and red one, and Barbie gundam.   
  
"I don't think this is fair!" Nicole complained, looking this way and that.   
  
"No da!" Kryss laughed. "What your ass, Nicci!"   
  
"Meep!" the younger girl whirled the Wing Zero about to stare face to face with that red and black gundam.   
  
"You!" came a voice over an open comm. channel, not bothering to privately speak with her. "You killed my wife! You killed her!" The voice, gruff, aged, and somewhat hysterical began laughing an insane, chilling laugh.  
  
In the midst of her trying to figure out what in the hell this lunatic was talking about, Nicole neglected to notice the thermo-sword held by the inane pilot's gundam, which was promptly run through the gut of Wing Zero, severing some major components. "FUCK!" she screamed, following that up with a rainbow of explicative to express her displeasure. As she frantically switched levels, sticks, and hit buttons she found nothing on the right half of the gundam functioned. "You fuck, you fried the center circuit connector for the right half of my gundam! Son of a BITCH!" she growled. "What in the hell is wrong with you! I didn't kill anybody!"   
  
"DON'T LIE! YOU KILLED HER!" the man screamed, firing on her with a collective of missiles. "I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU! YOU HAVE TO DIE! DIE, DIE, DIE!"   
  
She bashed her fist into the communications receiver, sparing herself from more of his ranting (Though, unfortunately, also decimating her controls over gundam system maintenance) and giving her the opportunity to think. She kicked at the lower area of the control panel while using her left thrust engine to power away, though without the right engine all it really did was spin her in circles. But at least the circles were making her drift away from the madman in that gundam.   
  
Once she'd loosened up a bit of the metal covering on the control panel she unfastened her seat restrainants and leaned over to tear at it, trying to ignore the deep gash in her hand the sharp metal created as she pulled. After she had created a larger enough opening she began twisting wires this way and that, being jarred by the mad gundam, connecting a few power wires of the left circuitry to the right. "Hacking class with Kryss was useful after all," she muttered while she worked. Before long she'd used some of the left's functionality to power just the right thruster.   
  
That was all she needed.   
  
As she sat up began powering backwards, not bothering to refasten herself into the seat, another explosion wracked the gundam, sending Nicole flying into the control panel before her headfirst, and then the world went black.   
  
***  
  
Mei-Ling laughed heartily, looking at the beaten gundam. "I guess I took care of the pilot, father," she chuckled. "For me and Phantom, it wasn't any problem at all..."   
  
Over the communicator she saw her stepmother's smirking face appear. "Don't get cocky, dear," the woman purred. "We wouldn't want you getting hurt."   
  
"Bite my ass, you whore," Mei spat, turning to face Shi's prized blue-green Poseidon Custom, firing a blast from her Vulcan cannon at it.   
  
"Huh?!" she heard a female voice cry over an open comm. line. "They're firing on their own people?"   
  
"Just help your imp friend!" she heard a male voice shout. She blinked. He sounded a little familiar...  
  
"Fine, master," the female voice replied sarcastically. As this was said a black gundam flew towards the fallen gundam.   
  
As Mei raised Phantom's lance to strike her new opponent, a sudden blast from behind wracked her mecha. "What in the hell?!" she roared, whirling around.   
  
A red gundam with rather large arms was motoring toward her, accompanied by a fleet of Aries. "Father!" she called, switching to an open channel. "Everyone! Incoming!"   
  
Chen growled, looking at their enemies, then back to his daughter's gundam. "Fall out! Retreat to the Beijing!" he ordered.   
  
***  
  
As soon as they heard the gruff, insane man's order of retreat the opposing gundams fell out and flocked back to the ship he'd called the Beijing. The pilots of the Peace Milion began packing together their trainee pilots and corralling them back to the ship.   
  
Back in the hanger, once the others were out of the gundams the group rushed to Wing Zero, which had been quite brutally mangled. Heero had drawn his gun as the Maganacs pulled the mangled Nicole from its cockpit, laying her on the cold hanger floor.   
  
"Oh my God, Nicole!" Quatre shouted, hobbling over to her side. "Nicole? Nicole!"   
  
"Nicci?" Kryss whimpered, kneeling down beside her partner in crime as Duo darted from the hanger to fetch a doctor. "Nicci, wake up! Nicci? NICCI!"  
  
***  
  
Drama. Ehehee...^^; 


	10. Onnas and Stars

XD Here we go! Chapter ten, yay!! *dances*   
  
Misplaced in Space - Chapter Ten; Onnas and Stars   
  
She was floating in space. At least, that was the feeling presented to Nicole. She felt as though she were ethereally floating through the sky. All around the stars shone brightly, though somewhat smeared against the sky.   
  
"Where am I...?" she wondered aloud.   
  
As she floated, gazing in awe upon all the planets and stars she passed by, she noticed something ahead of her. A large shape that looked like a sculpture of a ballerina gone mad. After puzzling over it for a moment, she noticed the word, 'ORION' painted in a bright yellow across the side. Her eyes widened with shock. "Oh my god! It's the ship!"   
  
Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something else. The form of the red and black gundam had appeared, with its gundam cronies in tow…and they attacked. In mere seconds the ship was destroyed.   
  
She wanted to scream. She wanted to say something. But as he opened her mouth no words would come. Only hot tears flowed from her cheeks. All she could do was cry and cry, cry there in...where was she?   
  
Suddenly, space was gone. All she saw was blackness, and she became aware of her surroundings. Beneath her she felt something warm and soft, and something was gently stroking the top of her right hand.   
  
All around she could hear voices murmuring, accompanied by a few ginger sobs.   
  
"Is she dead?" one said.   
  
"DON'T SAY THAT!" came a chorus of more voices, most of which she recognized, followed by a smacking sound and an explicative in Chinese.   
  
"Nicole..." she heard Quatre's voice whisper. She could feel his breath on her ear and shivered.  
  
She opened her eyes, a hazy picture coming into view. She could dully make out her friends and the G-boys standing around her. On the shape resembling Wufei she saw a new fuzzy black-blue circle on one side of his face.   
  
The small girl moved to sit up but was halted by a sharp sting of pain that shot up her back and shoulders. In response she fell back to the warm soft whatever beneath her with a groan, holding a hand to her forehead. "Pain..."   
  
Meanwhile the spectators had begun to jump for joy, quite relieved that their impish friend lived.   
  
Before terribly long the doctors had returned to the tiny room in which Nicole had been placed, and her slew of visitors was ordered away, though they would allow one to stay. Quatre swiftly volunteered to fill the slot, though he was only a millisecond or so ahead of Ashley.  
  
Once outside, the renegade pilot trainees had gone to the mass hall, where they sat in silence around a small table. Upon that table Ashley had commenced bashing her head in repeatedly.  
  
"A-chan!" Kryss yelped, catching the self-abusing girl by the hair, "What in blazes are you doing?!"   
  
"Waaaai..." the tall one groaned, trying in vain to continue her head-bashing ritual. "It's all my fault!"   
  
"What's all your fault?" Nick asked with a blink as he crossed his arms and leaned forward on the table.   
  
"Nicole's getting hurt..." she murmured, folding her arms upon the table and slumping down, burying her face in the little nook her arms had created.   
  
"It was not!" the three exclaimed in unison, all gazing at her as if she had purple worms crawling out her nostrils.   
  
"Yes, it was..." she grumbled stubbornly, "It was all my idea to go out joyriding, I was the one that made us get in those gundams, it was all my fault!!"   
  
"Ashley," her blonde friend addressed her delicately, placing a hand upon her shoulder. "You had no way of knowing what was going to happen. You didn't hurt her. Besides, she wanted to go. If she didn't, she wouldn't have come."   
  
"But it was my idea! It was because of me that she was out there!" she persisted, her voice muffled by her arms. "I'm terrible! I'm so reckless! So stupid! Such a stupid, stupid...onna! Yeah, that's exactly what I am! A stupid, reckless ONNA!" Her voice made a crescendo up to that final fortissimo cry, and with that she was up on her feet and whirled about with the intention of shutting herself up in the room...and found herself staring into the face of Wufei.   
  
She blinked her emerald eyes at the Chinese boy in a slow, temporary succession before casting them down, muttering icily, "You here to tell me where a woman's place is again?"  
  
He narrowed his eyes, though he responded quietly. "I'm beginning to think I don't know much about a woman's place."  
  
The tall girl shook her head and eyed him a moment before brushing past him and departing to the girls' room.   
  
The pilot stared after her a moment before sighing and taking her seat, turning the chair around and straddling it, resting his arms over the back. After a couple moments of silent stares from the other teenagers he glared and barked out, "What?"  
  
"For someone who was married and all, you don't know jack shit about women," Kryss said boldly, knowing she was venturing into a dangerous topic of conversation.   
  
The boy gaped at her a moment, looking like she had backhanded him. He then shook off the shocked expression and sent her a hard glare. "These are two entirely different situations."  
  
"Not really," the blonde replied, tossing her hair over a fish-net clad shoulder. "You had to have gotten into spats with your wife now and again. How in the hell did you ever settle things with her? I mean, didn't you ever understand her actions? Read her feelings?"   
  
He shifted uncomfortably in the hard plastic chair, turning his onyx eyes to the linoleum tile. "It's none of your business," he said gruffly.   
  
The impish girl opened her mouth to press him further, but before a syllable escaped her lips Nick had slapped a hand over them. "So, do you think Nicole'll be all right?" he asked casually, offering a change of subject before the two turned one another to human punching bags.   
  
"She'd better be!" Duo's voice sounded from the mass hall doors before Wufei could respond. Nick hissed a curse as the imp's teeth sunk into his hand and the braided boy walked over, pulling up a chair. He leaned back, slamming his booted feet upon the table. "Annoying and psycho as she is, she's like family now," he said firmly, crossing his arms over his chest.   
  
Kryss smiled and reached across the table to pat one of Duo's feet, saying gently (since she had pried away Nick's now-bitten hand), "She'll be fine, Duo."   
  
"Yeah, you're right..." he replied, a small, lop-sided smile on his face. Then his smile widened into a goofy grin. "Besides, she has Quatre to take care of her."   
  
"Yeah, 'take care' of her,'" Anna snickered.   
  
***  
  
She had been laying there for hours, and she still couldn't get the thought off her mind. The other girls had returned hours ago and long since gone to bed, and she was still awake. Just staring out into space, the same thought playing back over and over within her skull.   
  
"I could've gotten her killed," she muttered it aloud, further imprinting the idea on her brain.   
  
Ashley felt like the worst person ever born. She kept thinking to herself about how selfish and terrible she was, never worrying about others. She felt the best word for her was simply, 'onna.'  
  
But she could not just lay there awake. She decided she had to get up and walk around...do something. So she stood, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and hurried out the door.   
  
After a few minutes of walking she spotted Nick's door and decided to go in and wake him up. She shoved open his unlocked door and look this way and that, eyeing the junk he had piled up in his room. "Weirdo..." she muttered, going past his expansive collection of junk, anime, and books.   
  
Once she'd come to his bed she leaned over him, eyeing his sleeping face. A pleased smile was plastered on his face, his eyes moving to and fro behind his eyelids.   
  
Having a happy dream I see, she thought. She eyed him a moment more before he opened his mouth, speaking in a breathy voice. "Mei..." he sighed out, then rolled over, burying his face in his pillow.   
  
Ashley blinked a few times before her face broke into a lazy grin. "Nick's got a crush..." she giggled, seating herself at the edge of his bed. She then began poking him in the side over and over. "Niiiiick, wake up! You can dream about sex with that Mei-Ling girl later!"   
  
"Whha?" he yawned, sitting up groggily. "Ash? What're you doing in here?" he blinked, patting his bedside table in search of his glasses.   
  
"I just needed someone to talk to, and who cares if you get any sleep?" she replied with an evil smile. "So, tell me...How come you're whispering Mei's name in your sleep, huh?" She grinned, leaning forward curiously. "You know you HAVE to tell me what you were dreaming about..."   
  
"Gah!" he grumbled, batting at her with a stuffed cat. "Go pester your oriental love monkey or something!" he said, sticking out his tongue.   
  
She stared for a moment before tackling him. "YOU DIE FOR THAT!"   
  
"ARGH!" he yelped, flailing. "Damn you!"   
  
"YOU PESTER YOUR ORIENTAL LOVE MONKEY, ARRGH!" she growled, beating him with a pillow.   
  
***  
  
Quatre sat in the chair by Nicole's bed, his arms crossed, legs crossed, and a blanket over his shoulders. The doctor had come by and taken off his casts and he was feeling much better physically, though his heart was tied in knots with worry for the small girl. She was supposed to be his responsibility, and he did not feel right knowing she had gone out and gotten hurt like that and he had not been there for her. He sighed, running a hand through his blonde hair. What was he getting all worked up about anyway?   
  
Just then Nicole's eyes fluttered open again. She blinked, looking around the small medical room. "Where'd everybody go? What happened? Quatre?"   
  
His eyes lit up at her awakening and he smiled, taking her right hand and squeezing it. "How do you feel?" he asked, ignoring her questions for the moment.   
  
"Alright, I guess...I'm sore, and my head hurts, and so does my wrist..." she lifted her left arm and blinked at the cast on her wrist and hand. "Did I break my wrist?"   
  
The Arabian nodded. "You also suffered a concussion and a bunch of bruises and scratches." He patted the top of her hand. "The others had to go. You got pretty beat up by that red and black gundam..."   
  
She blinked. "Oh...Oh, yeah, I remember!" she growled, clenching her good hand into a fist. "Bastard shut down half the Zero's system functionality. I was able to hardwire the system so the power flow gave the right thrusters some functionality, then there was an explosion and I blacked out."   
  
He nodded. "I see...Remarkable..."   
  
"What is?"   
  
"Oh...Not many people are able to work with gundams so naturally...You have a gift," he smiled, kissing the top of her hand. "And I think we are even. You save my life, I save yours...Thank you," he whispered, turning a tomato red.  
  
Her cheeks dressed to match his. "I...thank you...and no problem?" she stuttered, then coughed. "So, ah, when can I blow this Popsicle stand?" she asked, abruptly changing the subject.   
  
He blinked his blue-green eyes. "Er...I don't know. I guess whenever you like. The doctor's didn't specify whether or not you needed to stay..."   
  
"Great!" she chirped, hoping off the medical bed. "Let's go!"   
  
"Go where?" he asked, noticing he still had a hold on her hand. He blushed and dropped it, shoving his hands in the pockets of his slacks.   
  
She blushed a bit, then smiled. "I don't know. Where ever! Is there an observation deck or something around here? I want to look at the stars."   
  
He smiled shyly, ruffling his hair. "Sure, I'll take you up there. Let's look at the stars together..."   
  
***  
  
Awww, isn't that CUTE?! *squeals* Me and Quatre are SO kawaii! *-* And what will come of Ashy and her oriental love monkey?!   
  
Ashley: HE'S NOT MY LOVE MONKEY!   
  
Wufei: But...you said last night...  
  
Ashley: SSH!! *fwap*   
  
*cackles* Muahaha...XD TUNE IN NEXT TIME ON MIS! O_o; *dies* 


	11. Beautiful

This is a more touchy-feely ish...relationshipy chapter. XD *points* But that's okay. XDDDD The next chapters are gonna delve deeper into some of the plot...But this one had to be written. XDD   
  
Misplaced in Space - Chapter Eleven; Beautiful  
  
Quatre pushed open one of the double doors leading to the observation deck, gesturing for Nicole to enter. She blushed and complied, stepping out into the circular room. All around was a dome of glass and plastic, clear as crystal, exposing all that could be seen of space. The dome reached down to about her waist, and from there down was the metal wall, which stretched into the flooring. The floor was adorned with a golden table of the zodiac, which Nicole stood in the center of. She spun, taking in all the sights of space.   
  
"Amazing..." she breathed, then paused and stepped up to the glass opposite the entrance, where Quatre stood. Placing her hands upon the glass she searched space with her chocolate eyes, trying to take in as much as possible. "It's so beautiful..." she commented.   
  
The Arabian boy smiled. "Yes..." he sighed, letting his gaze wander along her form a moment before mentally slapping himself. "Um, yes...It is," he replied, striding across the floor to her side. After a moment of silence passed between the two he coughed, groping for conversation. "So, ah...do you recognize any constellations?"   
  
"Oh, well..." she thought for a moment, searching among the stars, then pointed. "Right there, that's Cassiopeia." With her index finger she traced out the pattern in the stars. "She was the queen of Ethiopia, more beautiful than anyone. I forget exactly what she did, but the gods decided to punish her by hanging her and her throne in the sky upside down, so her skirt would be falling over her head for eternity." She laughed, looking over at him. "You know, I learned that from watching a movie."   
  
He nodded. "Do you see any others?"   
  
"Well...that's Orion, there. See the one shaped like a man?" she pointed across him.   
  
"Yes..." he blushed a bit, following her direction.   
  
"Yeah, he was the lover of Artemis, the goddess of the moon. I don't remember anything else about that story though..." she sighed and dropped her arm, rubbing at the cast on her wrist with her good hand.   
  
"Mm..." he nodded and searched the stars a moment before pointing. "There's the Great Camel..." he blushed a bit, tracing the shape out on the glass.   
  
"The Great Camel...?" she blinked, looking over at him. "That's a new one to me..."   
  
The 04 pilot turned a deeper shade of red. "I-I made him up when I was small. Whenever I felt lonely or sad, I'd look up to my camel, and I'd feel better. I still do sometimes, when I feel the battle is too much, or I feel very alone..." he shook his head, chuckling slightly. "My father would think I was being ridiculous...but it helps, you know?"   
  
"I think I know..." she nodded and took a sidestep closer to him, resting her head upon his shoulder, her cheeks a faint shade of pink. "It's hard feeling alone..."   
  
He blushed and nodded. "Yes, it is..."   
  
A bit of silence passed before Nicole spoke up. "I'm sorry about your father...Erm!" She clamped her good hand over her mouth, realizing she had let the cat out of the bag about that being in the series.   
  
Beside her Quatre stiffened. "You mean...that was in...people saw.... And what I did afterwards...?"   
  
She looked up, nodding slowly. "Yes."   
  
He shivered slightly, lifting his hands and staring at them. "What I did..."   
  
"Quatre..." she pulled away from him and stepped around in front of him. Gingerly she reached out and took his hands in her own, bringing them to her face, where she touched her lips softly to them.   
  
"Nico-," his cheeks flamed crimson when he felt her warm lips against his cool skin, then froze as she released his hands and half-stepped, half-lunged forward and wrapped her arms about his middle, hugging him to her.   
  
She rested her head upon his shoulder, whispering in a soft, comforting tone, "What you did...does not affect who you are...you are beautiful, Quatre. Don't forget that."   
  
Letting her actions and words soak in, he smiled, his face keeping the appearance of an over-ripe tomato. "So are you..." he muttered, resting his head upon hers and putting his arms about her.   
  
***  
  
"Goodnight, Nick!" Ashley called, closing his door behind her. She turned and padded down the hall, cursing the cold metal floor, wishing she had something covering her feet.   
  
As she turned the corner to the girls' room she found herself staring up at Wufei for the second time that day. "'Lo Wufei," she grumbled, stepping by him.   
  
Just as she had gone past him he turned and caught her arm. She looked back, raising an eyebrow. "What?"   
  
"...I don't know your place," he said firmly after a moment of deliberation.   
  
She blinked and turned full to face him, propping her hands on her hips. "You know, Wufei...sometimes you're almost bearable," she said, half-smiling. "Apology accepted." She grinned and turned, resuming her walk down the hall.   
  
"Apology? Who said anything about an apology?! Injustice!" he growled and turned, stomping the opposite direction, muttering about onna women.   
  
That particular onna shook her head and laughed, stepping up to the room's entrance just as someone else did. Looking up from the doorknob she blinked, then looked back down, her bangs hiding her eyes. "Hi, Nicole."   
  
"Hiya Ashy-chan!" her short friend chirped, then blinked. "What's the matter?"   
  
The tall girl shook her head, pushing open the door. "Nothing. Let's get some sleep."   
  
"Um...Right, yeah. Let's," Nicole nodded, stepping in after her friend and closing the door behind them.   
  
Then it seemed just as the two had settled back into bed, Relena Peacecraft's voice boomed over the intercom. "Attention all pilots, pilot trainees, and Milliardo Peacecraft...er, Zechs Marquis. In attempt to regain some order aboard the Peace Milion, new room assignments have been issued. If you were rooming alone before, you most likely now have a roommate. I have compiled these assignments due to behavioral patterns between individuals. This new list has been posted in the mass hall. Please check it and move into your new room as soon as possible."   
  
The two looked up and groaned. Kryss and Anna had been rudely awakened by Relena's voice and begun throwing random items at the intercom until the announcement ended. A few minutes later the motley crew had made themselves presentable and shoved off for the mass hall, Nick soon caught up in their wake.   
  
Upon arrival they spotted Trowa, Duo, and Heero already checking out the new assignments.   
  
"Good mornin', boys," Kryss cackled, walking over and tugging Duo's braid and Trowa's bangs.   
  
"Where are you rooming?" Ashley asked, following the imp and prying her off the boys' unusual hair.   
  
"We each got our own rooms," Trowa replied, pointing to himself and Heero.   
  
"But you'll never guess my roommate!" Duo chirped, bouncing around. "I'm gonna have fun tonight!" he cackled, pointing to the name beside his.   
  
Kryss glared at her name and held up a fist. "You touch me and your balls go in a blender, Bakagami."   
  
The American calmed down and held up his hands. "Relax, babe, why would I do a thing like that?"   
  
Ashley shook her head. "Trowa, who am I with?"   
  
"...Wufei," he replied, looking back at her.   
  
"Fuck," she sighed, kicking the wall. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. Has he been here yet?"   
  
The banged boy shook his head.   
  
"More fuck!" she growled and pulled up a chair. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck."   
  
Whilst her tall friend continued her maelstrom of explicatives, Nicole looked over the remaining names on the list. "Nick's alone..."   
  
"YEEES!!" he hissed, pumping his fist.   
  
"...Right. Anna's with Zechs...Whee, I'll ignore any moaning I here coming from that direction tonight," the brunette snickered and ducked a punch aimed for her head.   
  
"I am NOT having sex with Zechs!" Anna hissed. "Peacecraft will die..."   
  
She rose again and checked for her name, then paled. Then her cheeks flamed red. "And...I'm with Quatre."   
  
Whilst Nick and the Zechs-lover commenced making jokes about her and Quatre she grumbled and plopped in a chair beside Ashley as Kryss left, cackling about ink balloons and dooky bombs. "Well, fuck..." she heard the tall one mutter, "This makes things really fucking interesting."   
  
***  
  
XD That's all! I hope to have at least one more chapter up tonight. I'm really looking forward to writing what's coming next, so stay tuned!! XD *signs off or some such shit* 


	12. ROOMIES!

XD I changed the chapter order a little, so this is a chapter with the girls moving into their new room assignments. I had demands from fellow cast members for its being written. XD So here it is. Enjoy. :3  
  
---Misplaced in Space - Chapter Twelve; ROOMIES!---  
  
After the quartet had dispersed from their former room, the girls scurried off to their designated room. Off to the left Kryss and Anna had gone, where the hall forked, one direction leading toward Duo's room and the other to Zechs'.   
  
Once Anna had left her, Kryss found herself staring down the right portion of the fork in the hall toward certain doom. There would be beatings. There would be screaming. She could only pray the energy to fend off Bakagami would remain with her. The blonde took in a deep breath and drug her bags down the hallway until she came to Duo's room number, certain discomfort awaiting her inside.   
  
Hesitantly she knocked upon his door, and with a whoosh it opened and out popped Death himself like a jack in the box. He wore a wide grin, his nose touching her own as he greeted her a silky voice, "Welcome home."   
  
Kryss' puffed up in anger as she bashed him over the head. "This ain't my home, baka, this is entirely against my will. Now get outta my way."   
  
"Owww..." he yowled, then hissed and sent a hurt look in the psychotic midget's direction, which she dutifully ignored. He then picked up her bags and drug them inside and sat down upon his black, silken bed. After him she entered, looking somewhat surprised at his kind gesture and began unpacking her bags.   
  
Hmm, she thought, a good smack here and there and he should be manageable...  
  
***  
  
Ashley approached Wufei's room with her head held high, her huge duffel bag in her arms. She sighed and gave the door a swift kick. No response. She grumbled irritably and kicked the door once more. "HEY, OTOKO! OPEN UP!"   
  
A strangled cry of 'onna!' came through the door just before it opened. In the doorframe Wufei stood with a towel wrapped around his waist, his hair drenched and plastered to his head, water dripping down his chest. "Your timing is horrific, onna," he hissed through clenched teeth. "The dresser by the bed is cleaned out." With that he turned and stormed back toward the bathroom where water still ran in the shower and the door hung open, steam pouring out into the room.   
  
The poor onna could only stare in shock as she watched him walk away and slam the door. She then turned crimson and walked inside as she saw him shed his towel, his nude form thankfully blurred by the door's textured glass. "Otoko..." she grumbled as she began unpacking her clothes into the empty dresser.   
  
***  
  
Nicole grumbled as she approached Quatre's room and kicked the toe of her boot at the floor as she stared at the number plate on the door. "Gyaaah..." she sighed and rapped at the door. "I feel like such a moron..."   
  
A few moments passed before a breathless Quatre came to the door and opened it quickly, his cheeks a faint pink in color and a sweet smile playing on his lips. "Hello!" he greeted cheerfully, pushing open the door for her and standing aside for her to enter.   
  
The brunette smiled and walked in, looking around curiously. "Wow...your room is so pretty with the lights on..." she mused, looking around at the deep, rich colors of the linens on his bed and whatnot.   
  
"Oh...thank you," he replied quietly, scratching at the back of his neck. Then with a heavy exhale he took a seat in his desk chair.   
  
"Hmm?" she turned her attention to him with a blink. "Tired?"   
  
"Oh...I've just been cleaning up for you, I'm a little tired, yes..." He blushed at the attention and gestured across the room. "Those shelves and the dresser are for you..."   
  
"Uh, thanks..." she smiled and turned back to her bags and blushed. "For me...?" she mumbled, then coughed and shook her head. "I'm such a dork..."   
  
***  
  
Okay, sharing a room with Zechs. It couldn't be that bad, right? Obviously he didn't hate her. So Anna did have anything to worry about...did she?   
  
She shook it off as she knocked at the door to his room. Much more quaint than his office door, it looked just like any other door to any other room. After a bit the door began to creek open, and a portion of Zech's face was visible through the crack in the door. The sound of soft music and the faint smell of flowers was wafting out though that tiny opening, and once Zechs had realized who it was he opened the door wide and ushered her inside.   
  
He then quickly shut the door once more behind Anna and her bags, giving her the chance to look around the room and see the red, satin robe with silky burgundy pajama pants, the sash untied and revealing the co-commander of the Peace Milion's well-muscled chest and stomach.   
  
...Then the color drained from her face and she lost consciousness.   
  
***   
  
Bwahahaha, that's one way to escape Zechs' raging hormones. XD 


	13. The Pros and Cons of Sneaking Out

PLOT, YAY! XD And a sappy moment. This part is turning out to be more difficult to write than I'd thought it would be. ;_; Hopefully I still have some fans wanting to read this. XD  
  
---Misplaced in Space - Chapter Thirteen; The Pros and Cons of Sneaking Out---  
  
"Attention crew: the Peace Milion will be making another colony stop today for refueling and supplies. We will stay for the remainder of the day; don't be late reporting back to the ship. That is all."   
  
The fuzzed intercom clicked off with a pop. Nicole set down her book with a smile, standing and scurrying over to her things. She tugged on her black boots and snatched up her jacket, dashing out the door. With a quick look left and right she found the hall clear, save for Nick's head poking out his door.   
  
"Oy, Nick! Psst!" she hissed, waving over at him.   
  
"Hi!" he smiled, turning in her direction. "Are we sneaking out again?"   
  
"Of course, where're the others?"   
  
He shrugged in reply. "I saw Ashy go running by on her own a little bit ago, then came Kryss and Anna."   
  
She mirrored his shrug and dashed over, grabbing his arm. "Let's go then!"   
  
He blinked, grabbing his jacket as the smaller girl hauled him down the hall. "Go where?"   
  
"Baka, into the colony, where else? Where are we, 03?" she cackled, turning the corner and bumping into something soft and warm. She blinked her brown eyes and looked up at Quatre. "Um...hi?"   
  
The blond Arabian gave her a fish-eyed look. "Yes, we're at 03. Now, where do you think you're going?"   
  
"Um...out?" she laughed nervously, rubbing at the back of her neck with her free hand.   
  
He shook his head, a bemused smile playing at his lips. "I'm afraid not. Zechs would have a fit."   
  
"Erm..." the brunette twitched, looking back at her taller friend for guidance, whom only shrugged. After hissing a curse on Nick's head and a moment of deliberation she leaned up and touched at Quatre's lips gently with her own, causing her cheeks to flame an ungodly red along with his. Plus his body froze nicely.   
  
She snatched her Earth-born friend's arm and tugged him out the door. "Sorry, Quatre! We'll be back later!" she called back as they left the ship and hit the streets of 03.   
  
The 04 pilot stood frozen, his blue-green eyes quite wide with shock. Slowly he reached a hand to his lips, barely grazing at them with his slightly calloused fingertips. The corners of his mouth upturned slightly, the red in his cheeks fading to a subtle pink. "She kissed me..." He shook his head slowly, a quiet chuckle escaping him as he turned and headed out after the pair.  
  
***  
  
"Oooh, I can't believe I did that, that was stupid, stupid, STUPID!" the midget howled, her hands clapped over her roaring crimson cheeks.   
  
Nick yawned, staring dully at the back of her head. "He didn't seem to mind that much. Actually, I think he liked it, seeing as you ARE his girlfriend and all." He laughed softly, ducking the hail of fists that came down as she whirled about. "I was just kidding, kidding!"   
  
"Gr..." she popped him one in the shoulder and turned back about, resuming her walk.   
  
After a few minutes of walking and her step seemed to relax a little, he spoke up again. "So, what's the plan?"   
  
She shrugged, stretching her arms up over her head. "We're on 03...Why not visit the circus?" she suggested, pointing ahead toward a large tent in the distance.  
  
"The circus?" he raised an eyebrow, giving the back of her head a look. "Are you that desperate for amusement?"   
  
"Look, we're in outer space like a million or something light years from Earth surrounded by anime characters that until about three weeks ago we had no idea existed in life, and who the hell KNOWS how all this stuff got into space without anybody knowing about it. I'm plenty amused. I just want to go see the fucking circus. Got a complaint? Put it in my, 'I couldn't care less,' tray so I can file it away in the metaphorical office shredder, 'kay? 'Kay," she huffed, scuffing the soles of her boots a little on the sidewalk.   
  
"Yes, ma'am..." he said dutifully, twitching a little. "Touch-e. Maybe Quatre should do something to loosen you up..."   
  
"Bite me," she grumbled. "Check it out, we're here. Who's paying?"   
  
He shrugged, stepping up behind her. "I guess I wi-," he was cut off abruptly by the blare of a car horn, then:   
  
"AAAAHHHHH!!!"   
  
The pair's heads shot up, looking back in the direction of the scream. Sitting crumpled on the sidewalk was a small, darkly clad figure, looking to be breathing rather harshly as a car swerved down the road, a man sticking his head out the window and swearing loudly in some European language, giving the figure the finger.   
  
"Wow, I didn't know they knew that gesture in space..." Nicole mused, tapping her chin.   
  
Nick shrugged. "Some thing's are universal I guess...Hang on a minute," he muttered, squinting at the figure on the sidewalk a little. He jogged over, leaning over a little. After a moment his eyes lit up. "Mei?"   
  
From her place on the ground the girl looked up, blinking her blue-violet eyes. "Nick?"   
  
He nodded. "Yeah!" he smiled, offering her a hand, which she gratefully took and hauled herself up, dusting off her posterior with her free hand and sticking a tongue out at the torn knee of her black stockings. "So, is causing car accidents a regular thing for you?" he said teasingly.   
  
The Chinese-American girl blinked, then laughed, her cheeks turning a faint pink. "Yes, it's a regular hobby," she joked. "So, um...going to the circus?"   
  
He nodded, then blushed, realizing he still had a gentle grip on her hand. He released her hand, shoving his own in his pocket. "Would you like to join us?" he asked, nodding over to his short companion.   
  
She blinked, blushing a tad. "S-sure!"   
  
He nodded and turned, walking back to Nicole, who stood tapping her toe. Mei dutifully followed in his wake, stopping beside him at the ticket counter.   
  
"You do realize you're paying for Mei now," she said, waving a little to her and raising an eyebrow.   
  
"And I'll pay for us," Quatre puffed as he jogged up to the group, causing the small girl to blush.   
  
"You don't have to..." she coughed, giving Nick a look and raising a fist, as if daring him to say a word.   
  
"No, I want to..." he smiled down at her fondly, his cheeks turning a faint pink.   
  
"Well, um...alright. It's a date then!" she laughed nervously, walking up to the ticket counter and causing her beau to blush furiously.  
  
***  
  
"I must be out of my mind," Ashley shook her head, standing in front of the Beijing's docking gate. After about a half hour of directions, questions, and flirting with docking personnel, she had discovered that the Beijing had come in on the opposite end of 03, unaware of the Peace Milion's presence. And being the onna that she was, she had decided to do a little...detective work.   
  
"Well...here goes nothing," she laughed, skating into the gate.   
  
Within the Beijing she found the halls completely bare, all its occupants gone. As she rolled down the metal hall she looked this way and that for something of interest, patting the gun in her pocket she had swiped from Heero's room. As she looked around she ran the words, 'I am not an onna,' over and over in her mind, in effort to keep her wits about her. She tried to keep a cool look about her, but inside her stomach was twisting in knots and she felt cold all over. She could feel a small, cool perspiration tingling at her back, causing her to shiver as a breeze from the ventilator blew down from above her.   
  
Suddenly a few feet ahead she heard a grunt and the squeaking of a chair. In panic she looked this way and that for a hiding place, seeing only a computer console, which she ducked behind.   
  
She peaked over the console, spotting what appeared to be the bridge of the Beijing, sitting in a large, leather chair was a very tall, buff looking Asian man. He had a long, black and dribbled with gray mustache that came down on either side in the signature ancient Chinese way, the tips brushing at his shoulder. His hair was long, wound into a bun, which was also streaked with gray. He was obviously somewhat old, though she could only see his profile from where he sat. He then turned in his chair, the tall back of it facing her.   
  
The red-brown haired girl gulped, standing up and looking over some papers left strewn over the console; obviously someone was in the process of working with them. She picked up a few papers and shuffled through them, silently reading over them, her lips forming over the words as she did so, but no sound coming. She grinned and flattened them out, pulling up her shirt and sticking them in her jeans, then dropping her shirt to cover them.   
  
As she began typing and searching the computer for more information, the tall man ahead of her stood and yawned. "Need to enter this in the computer..." he muttered, just loud enough for her ears to catch it. She swallowed hard, looking this way and that, spotting an open door, which she swiftly crossed the floor to and dove through as the man arrived at the console.   
  
He blinked at the computer screen with open programs, frowned a moment then shrugged. "Mei must have been doing some research...silly girl," he grumbled, closing it out and taking a seat before the machine.   
  
Ashley's eyes widened. Oh, shit... she thought, Mei is the enemy! Quickly she shook it off and looked around the room, realizing she had stumbled into a uniform closet. Happily she grabbed up one of the uniforms, pulling off her roller blades and on the uniform. Grudgingly she decided she would have to leave the pink skates, tucking her hair up inside the hat and taking a deep breath and exiting the room.   
  
At the sound of footsteps he turned, blinking. "Hello?"   
  
She froze, then quickly put on a militant look and slowly turned around, saluting and standing rigidly. "Sir."   
  
"I thought everyone had left to see the colony?" he questioned, raising a bushy black and gray eyebrow.   
  
"Yes, sir, I was just leaving," she barked out, silently cursing herself as she walked down the hall and out the docking gate. She then broke into a run, hauling ass back to the Peace Milion.   
  
As she ran she saw Wufei looking around for something and grabbed his wrist as she ran, dragging him along. "COME ON, COME ON, COME ON!!" she squealed, turning into the Peace Milion docking gate and motoring down the hall to Zechs' office, releasing Wufei as she ran.   
  
"NAZI, NAZI, NAZI!!" she screamed as she ran, squealing the word over and over like a banshee. Upon arrival at Zechs' door she bashed at it as hard as she could until it suddenly opened for her, a very annoyed Marquis glaring down at her.   
  
"What?" he asked, his eye twitching with annoyance.   
  
She looked this way and that, holding the uniform she had stripped on her way there over an arm. "You got visitors?"   
  
"No..." he replied, giving her a funny look.   
  
"Good," she nodded, throwing him the uniform and holding out the papers. "'Cause I snuck onto the Beijing."   
  
"..." Without a word he took the papers and tossed the uniform upon his desk, reading over the papers. After a few moments of scanning the pages he set them down and took a seat in his chair. "...I can't very well punish you much more. This is good work. Very valuable information."   
  
She smirked, sitting in the chair opposite his. "Glad you see things my way."   
  
***  
  
*snickers* Chapter thirteen will hopefully be out soon. ;_; Sorry this took so long. ^^;;; SOWWY! 


	14. Circus Tricks, Onna Flips, and Will Heer...

THERE! IT'S DONE! I BANGED THE MAJORITY OF THIS OUT TODAY! X_X;; Are you happy now, Dragongirl? o_o;;; You better be! **hopes this will keep away the flames and demands and ranting for awhile* o_o;;   
  
--Misplaced in Space - Chapter Fourteen; Circus Tricks, Onna Flips, Will Heero Get 'Sick'?--  
  
After the show, the four trooped out the large circus tent once more, all thoroughly amused.   
  
"Dude, Trowa and Catherine's knife-throwing thing is way cool when you see it live!" Nicole squeaked, bouncing up and down as they cruised down the sidewalk.   
  
Mei nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that was pretty cool..." she trailed off, looking between the group. "So, where now?"  
  
Quatre shrugged. "How about some ice cream?"   
  
"ICE. CREEEEEEEEEEAM!!" the brunette squeaked, pushing up her glasses and clapping enthusiastically.   
  
Nick coughed and ducked his head at the onslaught of stares that followed the girl's outburst. "I think that's a yes..."   
  
***  
  
After Ashley had concluded her meeting with Zechs Wufei, whose face was practically beet red with frustration and a disapproving frown drawn on his face, quickly intercepted her. The onna gave him a 'the fuck do you want?' look as he caught her arm and pulled her to the side of the hall. After the Chinese boy only stood, glaring daggers into her she verbalized her body language. "The fuck do you want?"   
  
"Do you want to get yourself killed?" he managed to spit out amidst his fury, his fists quivering. How could she go off and do things like this? It drove him insane!   
  
"Noooo...why?" she replied, awarding all his rage with only a blank, unknowing stare. What was his problem? "Is something wrong?" she wondered aloud. "You look pretty red-faced there, Otoko."   
  
"IS SOMETHING WRONG?!?! INJUSTICE!! KISAMA ONNA!!" he raged. "...NO MORE SPYING ALONE!" he growled, turning on his heel and storming off down the hall in the direction of the exercise room.   
  
Confused, Ashley blinked in confusion while he went on his tirade down the hallway, frightening several mechanics and crewmembers. Once he had turned the corner she shrugged and strolled in the opposite direction. Some people. That man needed the stick extracted from his rectum, and she was just the one to do it.   
  
***  
  
Once the group had concluded their expedition for ice cream, they relocated back to the circus tent. This time, instead of entering the big top Quatre led them into a smaller green tent off to one side. Within were several large cages, filled with different circus animals. Spying a tiger in one corner, Nick steered away from the mass to it with Mei on his tail.   
  
The two crouched in front of the tiger's cage while Nicole and Quatre wandered over to the lion's cage where Trowa stood. Smiling at the big cat, the lean boy stuck a finger between the bars as the creature rubbed it's striped flank against the cage wall nearest him. "Bet you don't like it in there very much, huh buddy?" he asked rhetorically, watching it walk around the cage's interior, somewhat indifferent to the pair.   
  
"I'm sure it's not that bad for him...or her," Mei said quietly, scratching at the tiger's shoulder as it passed. "I mean, it gets fed well, and it looks happy and healthy. Can't be too rough."   
  
"Yeah, I guess," he nodded slightly, rubbing at his neck a little. He began to speak again just as Quatre spoke up over him:  
  
"We need to head back now, Nick."   
  
The brown-haired youth emitted a German curse and straightened. "Yeah, yeah..." he responded as Mei stood beside him. "Mei, I'll m-,"   
  
"Do you have a pen?" she cut him off, reaching into her coat pocket and pulling out a scrap of paper.   
  
"Uh, I think so..." He rifled in his pocket a moment, retrieving a pen. She snagged it wordlessly, setting the paper on the roof of the cage, scribbling a moment before handing it and the pen back.   
  
He took it and blinked, reading it. "What's this?"   
  
"My e-mail address and AIM screen name," she said, smiling shyly. "Talk to me sometime. I'll see you!" Then she reaching over and quickly half-hugged him, causing a red flush to spread over his cheeks. With that she dashed out the flap of the cave, panting hard as she ran down the streets back toward the Beijing.   
  
Nick could only blink, standing there and holding the small paper in his hands as though it were a bar of gold. Then he quickly shoved the paper in his pocket once he heard his impish companion squealing, "HOW CUTE!" as the group began moving from the tent back toward the Peace Milion.   
  
***  
  
Once he had reached the sanctuary of his room, Nick dropped with a flop on his bed. He exhaled and closed his eyes, wrapping his arms about himself, exulting aloud, "SHE HUGGED MEEEE!!" That out of his system he fell silent again and sat up, pulling the paper from his pocket as he crossed the room to his computer. Quickly he switched on the machine, basking in the comforting backlit glow of the monitor in the dark room. Moments later he had reached his AIM window and added Mei-Ling's screen-name, which promptly popped up as being online. He gulped and opened the instant message window, nervously initiating conversation.   
  
Qkewl: Hi, Mei?   
BitchyMeiMei54: Hi, who's this?   
Qkewl: It's me, Nick...  
  
Mei's heart jumped. A smile spread over her face. She had not expected him to actually talk to her. She tucked her legs up under her in the computer chair as she began to type again.  
  
BitchyMeiMei54: Hi, Nick! Nice to talk to you so soon for a change  
Qkewl: Yeah, it's better than just talking on colony stops. Weird how we're on the same course, huh?   
  
Nick mused a moment at that before hitting 'enter.' It was rather strange how they always seemed to be in the same place at the same time... He shrugged it off and sent the message. Just as his finger struck the key, as if on cue down the hall he heard familiar screaming strike up.   
  
"OTOKO, YOU PERVERTED SEXIST BASTARD! PEEPING AT ME IN THE SHOWER!" Ashley's voice bounced off the walls down the hallway.   
  
"INDECENT ONNA! KEEP THE DOOR LOCKED! I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE GETTING IN THE SHOWER!" Wufei screamed in reply. His voice sounded pained.   
  
The screeching promptly halted and Nick shrugged, turning his attention back to the computer screen, where something more important demanded his attention. Mei.   
  
BitchyMeiMei54: Are you there? O.o  
Qkewl: Yeah, sorry. My friends down the hall were screaming at each other again  
BitchyMeiMei54: Ooohhh, I see  
BitchyMeimei54: So what are you up to?   
Qkewl: Nothing really, just sitting around...Bored again, as usual. This ship would be dull if it weren't for the girls. They have a way of keeping things from getting too dull. O_o;;  
BitchyMeiMei54: o.o;   
  
Mei took a deep breath as she began to type her next message.   
  
BitchyMeiMei: Maybe I could interest you in something that might not be terribly dull and get you out of the ship at your next colony stop?   
  
He blinked, his interest caught.   
  
Qkewl: what would tha be?   
Qkewl: that*   
BitchyMeiMei54: Well, my dad's kind of a bigwig in space, and there's this costume ball coming up in a couple days. The federation really wanted him to go, because he's a pretty powerful guy and doesn't really have alliances with the federation, but they aren't enemies either...**shrugs** We have this extra invitation, and he said I could bring someone...would you like to go with me?  
  
Just as the message had appeared on his screen his door had opened with a resounding 'WHACK' and in came Ashley, her hair wet, dressed and looking rather...cranky.   
  
"Damn fucking Otoko walking in on me in the shower and being a fucking bastard, grrr.." she cursed without remorse, striding across the room where Nick now stood in front of the monitor. "Nick I have to talk to you, see Mei, she's part of the Beijing, she's the enem- hey, what's that?" she blinked and looked over his shoulder and gasped. "You're talking to Mei!"   
  
"Sssh!!" he hissed, waving his hands frantically.   
  
"A COSTUME BALL?" she squealed and clapped her hands together. "Perfect! I need to get to that! Now I can get my revenge on that emperor guy for what he did to Nicci!" she smirked.   
  
Nick, not caring at all about what his friend had said about Mei, though it had processed, pushed his way in front of the monitor again. "No, no, no, you can't go!"   
  
"Oh yes I can, and I will! You can go there with Mei and have your fun, since you seem to trust her anyway, despite what I said, but I'm busting in there, too!" she stated firmly, a wild grin on her face. "I just need a date, a dress, and a mask! Hmm..." She turned back toward the door, just in time to see Wufei standing there with another disapproving glare on his face.   
  
In spite of his stormy face, obviously not wanting her to have anything to do with this costume ball, he said in a low, commanding voice, "I will accompany you." He then turned and walked back down the hall to the room rigidly.  
  
Nick's face fell. "B-but...you don't have an invitation!" he pointed out in a pathetic attempt to thwart her attempts.   
  
"That can be taken care of. I just need to have a little talk with Zechs, he's a federation man," she cackled.   
  
He sighed. "You're gonna go in there and rough things up and ruin my first dat-," he blushed and clapped a hand over his mouth.   
  
"AWWW, YOUR FIRST DATE!" she shrieked, hugging him and squealing in baby talk, "HOW CUUUTE! Wittle Nicky is gwowing up!" She then released him and exited, laughing.   
  
Grumbling, Nick turned back to the computer as the door shut again behind him, reclaiming his seat.   
  
Back in her room on the Beijing Mei was growing nervous and impatient.   
BitchyMeiMei54: Are you theeere? Heelloooo? If you don't want to go, just say so...  
Qkewl: No, I would love to go. What should I wear, and when/where is it?  
  
Mei's face lit up.   
  
BitchyMeiMei54: Great! Just wear a nice suit and a matching mask. It's on 04, the Winner mansion. They're apparently a big important family, they have some pull in the federation...That's why it's being held there. **shrugs** A week from today, at 6:00. Meet me around 5:30 outside the mansion?  
  
He twitched visibly. The Winner mansion? That meant Quatre would be there for sure, too, and he was bound to bring Nicole with him...and Nicole was bound to want Kryss and Ashley to come, though Ashley knew about it and was coming with Wufei, and Kryss was bound to bring Duo, and Zechs and Relena would be there since they were the big Peacecraft folk on board, and Zechs was bound to bring Anna, and Relena was bound to be alone because Heero would magically get 'sick' again but show up in stealth and avoid her, and... He sighed. So this was what hell was like.  
  
Qkewl: That's great. It'll be great. I can't wait.   
  
***  
  
XDDDD **CACKLES* Chapter 15 should be coming soon enough, hopefully. XDDD 


	15. Curiosity Kills

Arrrghhh, finally. XD I'm such a slacker. I break promises. XDD But here it is! Chapter fifteen! And I have a fresh batch of ideas and new characters. Bwahaha.   
  
*DISCLAIMER*  
Because I haven't done one in awhile. No, I don't own GW. But I do own myself, Shou Hebi, Wong-Shou Xi, Shou Mei-Ling, and Shou Chen. XD Then some people own themselves and GW is owned by the people that created it and stuff. Woot.   
  
--Misplaced in Space - Chapter Fifteen; Curiosity Kills--  
  
"AAIII!!! KONO HENTAI, BAKAGAMI, ECCHI!" Kryss' strangled screams of rage filtered through the limousine Quatre had arranged for the troop of Peace Milion representatives. The Peacecraft siblings had been wary to allow the pilots to bring along their trainees, and now they desperately wished they had acted on their wariness, for chaos had begun to ensue from the moment the ball-gowns had been donned.   
  
Nick's predictions could not have been closer to the truth.   
  
"C'mon babe, be kind!" Duo whimpered, scrunching up against the closed door of the vehicle as it sped through the streets of 04, vainly trying to escape her angry fists.   
  
"KISAMA! BASTARD!! SHINEE!!" she wailed, "YOU KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!" She then huffed and turned away, causing her companions to giggle as her crestfallen beau attempted to return her to good spirits.   
  
"I think Duo has his work cut out for him," Nicole cackled, leaning over to Anna, whom snickered evilly, then quickly remembered she was in a dress and returned to picking at the skirt of the wicked garment.   
  
"I hate dresses," she muttered sullenly.   
  
"But it suits you," Zechs said simply, causing her to look up sharply and blush, tirade quietly about the falsity behind his statement, then clam up and stare out the window while Nicole teased her relentlessly until the rolling field of arguments halted in front of the Winner mansion.   
  
The moment the Peacecraft children emerged from the limousine the media had begun to flock. Ever since Zechs had allied with his sister, reporters and news organizations had been having a field day trying to pry his motivations from his lips, but to no avail as he brushed past with Anna hurriedly, Relena hanging back to field their anxious questions.   
  
After Nicole and Quatre had exited the car and given the media the brush-off Kryss and Duo made for the mansion doors, then the blonde blinked and turned as the screech of tires and excited shouts sounded behind them. In the midst of her curious pause Duo had already become engaged in a conversation with some sort of bigwig, and ahead Quatre had gotten cut off from escaping into the crowd by one of the Maganacs.   
  
While the two were caught up in conversation and the others filtered inside, Nicole scurried back to Kryss. "What's the matter, K-chan?"   
  
Her impish friend frowned. "Just a bad fe-,"   
  
She was cut off as a rear door of the long jet-black car opened. Out of it came a woman they had not seen before; she was young and oriental with hair that fell to her elbows and matched the shade of the vehicle she had emerged from. She sported a sleeveless and shimmering white and silver cheongsam dress with curious cherry blossom patterns and an intricate white dragon mask on an ebony stick in her left hand. Excited shouts sounded from the group that had moments earlier been questioning Relena with great interest, but now their attention turned to this Asian beauty that smiled warmly in reception to the group with their flashing cameras and burning questions, leaving Relena standing alone and looking confused. Who was that?   
  
"Who's she?" the brunette blinked in surprise. "If she can draw the media away from Relena...Damn. She so was not in the series."   
  
Kryss continued to frown in that direction, then blinked in surprise as the mystery girl turned and met her gaze coldly for a brief moment, then instantaneously was warm and talking with passion to the media who lapped up her words eagerly, not even noticing her momentary change in manner. "Whoa...Did you seen that, N-chan?"   
  
Her friend nodded. "She's the uber-bitch. Hey, look!" She pointed gleefully as after a tall women in black furs left the car to be with the mystery girl Mei had emerged and was looking around hopefully in her full lacy black and violet gown with a bell skirt, a cattish mask in hand. "Oi, Mei!" she squealed, waving and bouncing up and down.   
  
The short girl looked intensely relieved as she spotted the pair and dashed over. "Thank God, faces I recognize...Where's Nick?" she continued to look this way and that.   
  
Kryss snickered and shoved a thumb over her shoulder, indicating the tall boy standing by the door and staring at the ground, his hands in his coat pockets, staring down at his shoes, a simple gray tom cat mask in his back pocket.   
  
More relief filled Mei as she hurried over to him with the girls on her heels. "MeiMeei!" Kryss caught her hand. "Before you go off with lover boy there, tell us who she is!" The impish pair turned the girl around and pointed at the girl who was finally breaking away from the media, giving a few final comments.   
  
She sighed and frowned a little. "That's my step-sister, Shou Hebi. Hebi's really big with the media, bigger than I am even though I'm my father's flesh and blood. But I guess I'm more introverted than her. Anyhow, they're calling her the next Relena Peacecraft and stuff. The lady in the fur is her mother, Wong-Shou Xi," and before the girls could question her further Duo and Quatre had found them once more and she was hurrying over to Nick.   
  
The two blinked and looked to each other, then back at the girl called Hebi as she ascended the steps up to the large double doors where a pair of men in suits waited with the doors held open. As she passed, Kryss piped up loudly, "I smell something!"   
  
"Yes, something much like panda poop!" her impish friend added, quite audibly and obviously directed at the passing woman. The two were rewarded with an icy glare, then an indignant huff as she passed through the doors and into the crowd.   
  
Duo hooted with laughter and high-fived his roommate while Quatre ducked his head in shame and whispered to the pair, "Was that entirely necessary?"   
  
The two looked to each other a moment, then off into space as if contemplating before nodding and grinning broadly, eyes closed as if to emphasize innocence. "Yes!"   
  
"C'mon, let's go," Duo snickered, still grinning as he put an arm through the blonde girl's and led her through the doors, the other couple following in their wake.   
  
***  
  
Meanwhile, Mei and Nick had already drifted through the doors and inside, where Ashley and Anna had quickly found them and gushed over the pair, much to Nick's terror and embarrassment. Once they had escaped the older girls and escaped into the masses of dancers, they were absorbed in the music.   
  
Disappointed that their pray had escaped and their shorter friends would fight back, the two settled back against the wall in a corner of the ball room. After awhile of watching the groups of people mingle and make merry, Ashley spoke up. "So, how come you aren't off with Zechs tonight?"   
  
"Rrr..." Anna gave her a look, "He's just all surrounded by spooty reporter people. I don't like that kind of stuff, and it's bad enough I have to be all dressed up and stuff, I don't need cameras shoved in my face and questions about being there with him. Blah." She then shrugged her blue, silk-clad shoulders and then her features turned devilish. "So why aren't you over pawing with Wuffers?"   
  
"Wuffers?" she blinked, looking at her friend like she was insane before shaking her head and looking the other way, glaring off in the opposite direction as if at Wufei. "He's a pain in the ass," she said simply, not commenting further.   
  
"Aw, that's cute," Anna snickered, ruffling her streaked hair. "Ack, look, someone's spotted us," she hissed, jerking her head in the direction of an older-looking man garbed in a red silk Chinese suit.   
  
Ashley looked up from her angry reverie, blinked a few times, then stiffened and hissed to her Earth-born comrade, "That's the emperor. From the Beijing." Her teeth clenched slightly as her jaw set, her white-gloved fists clenching at the navy fabric brushing her hips.   
  
That information earned a yelp coupled by a shocked expression from Anna as the man walked directly to Ashley and smiled with the utmost charm, bowing slightly and offering a hand. "May I have this dance?" he asked politely as the music changed.   
  
The demeanor of the young woman changed immediately as she put on the innocent girl act, all smiles and curtsies. "Why, of course," she said silkily, putting on a flattered smile as she took his hand and approached the dance floor with her enemy.   
  
Anna could only stare in shock as she watched her friend walk off to the dance floor with Shou Chen and shook herself once the pair had disappeared into the crowd and dashed off to find the large table reserved for the Peace Milion.   
  
***  
  
"I can tell, she's a bad apple," Kryss grumbled, sipping at a glass of sparkling grape juice a waiter had brought, then gave it a displeased look and turned to the half empty glass of an unconscious old man at the next table, pouring the contents into it. Once she had turned her attention back to the others she blinked. "Where'd Quatre go this time?"   
  
With a bored expression her brunette buddy pointed in the general direction of a flock of reporters and flashing cameras, jabbering about federation talks and whatnot.   
  
"Ah. Anyway, like I was saying..." and before she could continue Anna had arrived at the table looking flushed and took a seat between Duo and Nicole.   
  
"Whoa, where's the fire?" Duo laughed lightly, pushing a glass of water to her, which she took gratefully.   
  
She took a few greedy swallows before pointing out into the dance floor where everyone's favorite onna and Emperor Chen went waltzing by. The three blinked in surprise as the pair then whisked out into the crowd again and disappeared.   
  
Just as they had lost sight of the two an excited murmur bubbled from where Quatre as swamped with paparazzi and heads turned in the direction of the Peace Milion table, their sights set on Nicole. The brunette's eyes widened in fear as the group came stampeding toward her, shouting questions.   
  
"Excuse me, Miss!"   
  
"I understand you're accompanying Mr. Winner tonight! What's your name?"   
  
"Are you Mr. Winner's significant other?"   
  
"Can we expect a marriage?"   
  
"Is there a prospective heir?"   
  
"What kind of relationship do you two have?"   
  
Quatre tried to wrestle through them to cover for the poor girl as they swooped down, looking exceedingly pained and apologetic as he tried to elbow his way through, while Nicole could only stutter as all the microphones were shoved in her face while Duo and Anna laughed heartily.  
  
Kryss on the other hand could see her friend's fear and caught her arm, pulling her up and away, shouting over the questions, "WE NEED TO POWDER OUR NOSES!" With that the imps disappeared and elbowed through the dancers, leaving the propaganda to find someone else to bother.   
  
"Smooth, K-chan." Her friend blew out her cheeks as they slowed to a walk. "So, what are we really going to do?" she grinned mischievously, knowing the blonde had something in mind.   
  
"Tail Ashy and the bad man, of course," she cackled, pointing ahead toward where they were walking out to the balcony. Their tall friend was walking stiffly, and the oriental mans' arm was around her waist, his fist clenched at an odd angle against her side.   
  
Nicole's playfulness faded and she nodded gravely, watching them walk out of the public eye. "Let's go!" she said quietly, grabbing her friend's arm and scurrying with her through the tinted curtains that parted to the open air on the large balcony. They pulled the curtains apart just enough to peak but not be obvious.   
  
The balcony was large with a few stone benches with detailed vine carvings on them, and outside it was almost completely pitch black save for the colony's street lamps that lit the dome. A slight overhang of the balcony held a small chandelier much like the larger ones inside the ballroom. The pair stood almost directly beneath it facing one another and the light played on their silken clothes in interesting fashions. Chen's hand was still clenched at her waist.   
  
"So, Chen," the girl said coolly, her arms crossed over her chest defensively. "What's up?"   
  
The emperor frowned deeply and his hand seemed to clench tighter, causing her to wince. "You've caused me a great dishonor and a lot of trouble, child," he said slowly, anger shaking in his voice.   
  
"Yeah? Well, too bad. Don't you even think about fucking with me. There're six armed gundam pilots walking around in there with a hard-on for blowing you away. You touch me and they'll be on your ass like flies to shit," she growled, glaring up at him defiantly.  
  
His expression turned completely sour. "Try me." At that his fist jammed into her side and her eyes flew wide in shock as she began to double forward. The two spectators stared in confusion at first, until they saw the fabric of her dress begin to change a dark red-violet with the blue of her dress. Blood.   
  
The emperor pulled back, retracting the knife and causing the girl whom a moment before stood confidently to fall to her knees and putting her hand to her side as the wound began to bleed freely. The emperor only stared and tossed the knife aside as the two girls moved to charge him.   
  
"A-," they barely got the first sound out as hands clapped over their mouths and noses from behind and the world went dark for them.   
  
Ashley turned her head weakly at the muffled sound, seeing a couple of fuzzy blurbs coming towards her and Chen. She could not discern what they were, but she squinted and tried to stand, only to feel something come in contact with her injured side and the air left her as she fell back against the railing of the balcony. She heard a mesh of sounds like talking, but her heart beat so hard in her ears that she couldn't decipher what was said. Moments later the figures were gone and she was alone.   
  
***  
  
*snickers* I feel evil. Just wait for more to come. You will be shocked and amazed. XD 


	16. Days Go By

I think I should be shot for this chapter's title. XD   
  
--Misplaced in Space - Chapter Sixteen; Days Go By...--  
  
She could not help it. No matter how hard she tried to sit and be still, it was an utter impossibility. Her mind kept moving much too fast for immobility, and she was much too antsy for that. The past three days had been utterly hellish, and she felt as though she were going to be crushed under the weight of it all. The information had been running through her head over and over, and still nothing popped out that seemed to be of help. Two of her charges were gone, one was seriously injured, and as of yet they had no leads to go on, though she knew full well whom to blame. She knew the emperor had something to do with this, well, he or that snake in the grass stepchild of his, Hebi.   
  
Whatever the case, trouble was most certainly mounting. Her charges were being injured and disappearing, and in reaction to that Quatre, Duo, and Wufei were being completely rash. She hated to say it, because it sounded so cold and so much like something Heero would say, but they were useless in their present state. And beside that, the Shou clan was prestigious and important. They were not ready members of their alliance, but their peacefulness mattered to the Federation. She had nothing to go on to base her claims, and if she dared say anything the media would not only shun her from hence, but it would instigate quite a bit of mudslinging. What to do?   
  
She had contacted Lady Une and the Preventers after calling the authorities about the events of that night. Naturally, the Federation had been alerted and was on the lookout, and with Milliar-, no, with Zechs on her side now she could pull some strings, but they were not eager to go hunting missing persons, or really to help at all. Besides, Lady Une was not quite so eager to do favors for her dear brother. She had been told missing persons were not their area. They prevented wars. Une did not want to go trying to start one based on the young girl's suspicions.   
  
That did not leave her with many other options. The Preventers were really her best shot at getting anything done at this rate. They could pull a stealth operation and pull up basically any sort of information she would have needed easily. Heero could find it to, but it would take some illegal hacking through Preventer databases, and she had no desire to do anything of the sort. She had specifically gone to him and demanded he not try it...yet. If need be she would tiptoe around the law and confidentiality, but she preferred to do things the straight-arrow method.   
  
However, if she could convince the Preventers that helping her was in their best interest...but how? She would ha-   
  
"Miss Relena?"   
  
Her train of thought reared to a halt. She ceased pacing and looked up from the floor, her hands still clasped behind her back. She smiled wearily as she spied one of her assistants poking their head in the door. "Yes?"   
  
"You should come quickly...I believe we have a problem...There's a transmission coming in from the Beijing..." the blonde flushed somewhat, and her curly-haired head disappeared.   
  
Relena only sighed. She did not need this...  
  
***  
  
When next she awoke, Ashley found her left side numb from her underarm to her hip, and was only dully aware of the fact that she had legs, though she quickly brushed that off as grogginess. How long had she been out anyway? Bah, it did not matter. Her memory was muddled anyway, and all the images she could recall were ones of intense pain, a couple mysterious blurred figures, more pain, followed up by nothing but blackness. Confused further by the holes in her memory, she sat up slowly, finding her abdomen quite unwilling to flex, a dull ache throbbing there.   
  
Once she had achieved a vertical position the girl blinked in surprise. She was most definitely in the medical bay of the Peace Milion, however…it looked as though some wild beast had gone terrorizing the place. Machines and tools littered the floor, some in pieces, and she could only blink in surprise at the array of damage. What the hell happened here?   
  
She tried to vocalize her thought and found her speech somewhat impeded by the oxygen mask set on her face, and as she moved her hands to free her face she found one would not respond and looked down to see a hand tightly clasped about it. Yet again surprised she glared down, utterly tired of these shockers, and the sight made her gaze soften; Wufei, sitting in a chair hunched over uncomfortably with his head lying in the crook of his arms. With a somewhat fond smile she disengaged her hand, causing him to stir ever so slightly. Thankfully he did not awaken, and quickly she removed the restricting mask.  
  
That done the tall girl turned and moved to swing her legs off the medical table and found they would not budge. However, the force she had exerted still acted on her upper body as it went toppling forward despite the stillness of her leaden legs. Promptly the Texan girl went flying from the table and down to the floor, where an unused bedpan greeted her face.   
  
"...Ouch."   
  
***  
  
"YOUR MOTHER WAS A HAMSTER AND YOUR FATHER SMELT OF ELDERBERRIES!" the blonde imp screamed in exasperation and sat back down indignantly on the bench that protruded from the wall in her small prison. Three days. Three days she had been spending in that hellhole. She had been watching the little oriental men go back and forth in front of the cage bars of the little silver box she had been confined to, and she could hear Nicole screaming more non-sense and curses at them from time to time from the cell neighboring her own. However, both captive girls were very disappointed that the men would not even shoot dirty looks. Perhaps they did not speak English, but it was of no consequence.   
  
Probable language barriers did not do anything for her present state. She was very unhappy, still dressed in the black and purple dress she had worn to the ball, and felt quite grimy, as there was no shower. She was also quiet sore on account of violent guards with big sticks, an unexpected turn when the girls had begun wailing upon their captors once they had regain consciousness. The two had earned quite a few nice bruises and cuts, and Nicole could not put much weight on her left ankle, but it had been worth it to see the grumpy China-men parade back and forth in front of their holdings with black eyes, and when they sat to wince visibly with pain.  
  
Besides that, room service was insanely poor. The meals were skimpy, and the only comforts she had been graced with were that of a toilet, a few rolls of toilet paper, and a pillow and blanket to transform the rather large, stiff bench into a bed. Goody. The toilet was not even concealed by a curtain or doors, and the entire world was free to get a peep whenever she could not stand it any longer and would use the facilities.   
  
"I HATE OUTER SPACE!" Kryss heard her friend scream, and she mewed an agreement.   
  
She had just about prepared herself to begin marching about in her little confinement once more when in came the emperor himself with Hebi and the older woman who had been wearing the furs earlier in his wake. Chen held a script and was mumbling something to a guard, and the only word the New Yorker managed to catch was 'transmission.'   
  
***  
  
Anna felt the itching urge to pull her hair out. There she sat yet again in the cafeteria around a table, though it felt somewhat empty without the other girls around. The testosterone filtering in the air was kind of stifling, and probably to blame for the slight increase in barometric pressure aboard the ship. The G-boys minus Wufei plus Nick (that's some equation for you) sat crowded around the table with her, and she could swear concern even flickered around in the eyes of Heero and Trowa. If even the stoic boys were worried...well, damn.   
  
Beside her, Nick was mumbled through strings of German, maybe it was a way of keeping his mind busy amidst all the worry he was probably going through. Opposite him at her left, Duo was drinking probably his fifth cup of coffee. The boy had begun an absolutely insane java addiction since Kryss was gone, and his face plainly displayed signs of sleep deprivation and worry. The poor Shinigami's hand shook ever so slightly, and beside him Quatre was none the better. The blonde boy kept wringing his hands, and fidgeting in his seat. After a bit of wringing he would tire of that and grip the edge of the table so hard his knuckles turned white, or he would put his hands around his warm teacup. Then after a moment the little cup would exult small creaks of pain from the pressure of his hands, and he would reside to wringing once more. His eyes were wide with the same obvious signs of lack of sleep. Even Heero's brow was furrowed more tightly than usual, and Trowa could not sit still.   
  
Up in the corner on a platform the television was on the news channel, and the lone girl sat back in her chair, staring up at the television. She was starting to miss Zechs again; he was gone a lot the last few days, helping Relena or trying to find something he could publicly nail the emperor for. Spoot. She hated this. Moping boys and busy men and missing girls, it was so frustrating, she wanted to-  
  
"Good afternoon, Peace Milion."   
  
She had not even noticed the television change, and she sort of sat there, blinking. "Why is the ship talking to us?!" she squeaked out, then it all clicked as she stared at the screen a moment more.  
  
The boys had all promptly stood up and Heero had gone for his gun, which he now held up, pointed in the direction of the television, where the image of Chen, two guards, and a couple familiar faces graced the screen.   
  
"Hn." Heero put away his piece once he was certain their were no intruders abroad and quietly reclaimed his seat, as did most everyone else in the vicinity with the exception of a pair of very sleepy, very distressed pilots whom had instinctively called out for their very grumpy-looking, rather banged up imps.   
  
However, the two were unresponsive. Obviously the transmission was not on a two-way connection. Heero had begun typing upon his laptop immediately while Chen began his little speech, which broadcasted upon every television across the Peace Milion.   
  
"As you can see, I've two of your little girls. Now, I want something for them. I hate to use the term as it sounds so criminal, but..." he smiled sadistically. "Call it a ransom, if you will. I want the pilot of the gundam." Heero stiffened slightly, but the reaction was barely notable by the untrained eye. "If you give me the pilot, and the gundam, I will return the little girls to you unhar-,"   
  
"LAAAAAA!!" the two began to wail, "He's a LIAR! LIAR, LIAR!"   
  
"Don't listen to ANYTHING he says, Quatre!" Nicole shouted, sending a very rude gesture in the elder man's direction.   
  
"Bakagami if you have ANY sense you will know all he speaks are LIIIEEEES!" Kryss yowled along, glaring back at him as well, trying to shake off the guard.  
  
"LIES, LIES!" they squealed, and quickly the guards rewarded them with stunning blows to the head, causing the on looking pilots to bubble with anger.   
  
"...unharmed," the emperor huffed, annoyed by the little interruption. "Now, in three days travel from your current location there is an abandoned colony floating near an old satellite around a moon in this system. It was formally used as a weapons development area. Until then." An evil smile flickered over his face as the transmission cut.   
  
Heero looked up from his computer after a moment. "I have the coordinates of the colony's position. When we reach it I will go out in the zero and-,"   
  
He was cut off as an angry shout sounded down the hall, causing the group to look up, startled as in came Ashley in a wheelchair. Shortly after her Wufei came bounding in.   
  
The look on her face was disturbing. "And I will come with you."   
  
***  
  
I'm an evil bitch. ^0^ Hehehehe. 


	17. And Still I Think of You

I really should be shot. XDDDD cackles evilly

--Misplaced in Space - Chapter Seventeen; ...And Still I Think of You...--

Was this what going insane was like? It sure seemed like it. Nick hated that sick feeling in the pit of his stomach that he got while he lay there in bed, thinking about Mei and his captured friends. He felt somewhat better knowing that Ashley was going to be fine, but still. There was bound to be something big happening, and what if Mei got caught in the crossfire? He was really, truly scared for her. Shiest.

Obviously sleep was not going to come, so quietly he crept from his bed to the awaiting computer and turned it on. Maybe Mei was having trouble sleeping, too...

**ooo**

Mei blinked in surprise as the instant message window popped open, snapping her from her silent reverie. No one ever instant messaged her at this time of night. She kept it on anyway just for the sake of it, but it was a genuine surprise for someone to actually be online and want to talk to her at that hour, especially Nick... She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She could not help feeling guilty, even if she had had nothing to do with it. Her father was making a ransom on the young man's friends.

"I hate being the emperor's daughter," she muttered aloud as she typed her response.

**ooo**

With a sniffle Quatre pushed himself up from the pillow he had buried his face into, his eyes a deep bloodshot red. He was so terribly sick of this loneliness, this feeling of helplessness. He had not been able to sleep, no matter how hard he tried. He was too worried, too upset. Whenever he tried to sleep, or even if he had actually managed to doze off, he would suddenly remember the empty side of the bed, and that moved him to tears.

The past few days had seemed to drag like an eternity. They had made it all the way into the system of the abandoned colony, and Shou Chen had sent them another transmission the past night to give them their meeting time. As the blonde turned to inspect the clock that sat over on Nicole's-his heart wrenched at the very name-the clock that sat on the other side of the bed, he saw the time was near. He exhaled deeply and pushed himself out of bed, walking to the closet and running his hands through his hair. Why did he even bother to change into pajamas if he did not sleep? It was almost funny.

While he pulled out a fresh set of clothes he found his mind begin wondering back to the girl again. How was it she could do this to him? Certainly she was nice, but why was he so upset? Well, he did feel partially responsible for her disappearance. She and Kryss had run off because of all the fame surrounding him, and because he had taken her to the ball...he sighed once more as he pulled on his usual khaki pants with a white undershirt and dress shirt over that for a change. It was because of his origins that she had suffered so. Perhaps he had best leave her alone once-or rather if-no, he preferred once, she returned. He did not want anyone to be hurt at his expense, but still...another sigh.

As he pulled on his shoes a knock came on the door. He rubbed at his red eyes with his wrists, trying to erase some of the haggardness from his appearance. "Yes?"

The Arabian listened to the door creak open and heard Duo call softly, "Yo, Quat," as he came in and took a seat beside him on the bed.

Duo had never felt so pissed off or scared in his entire life with maybe the exception of the incident at the church so many years ago. But this was a different kind of fear and anger; sort of...it was hard to figure out. He just knew he definitely did NOT like having Kryss gone like this. He missed her, just about everything about her. Even the way she would scream at him and beat on him. How masochistic was that? The braided boy would have been willing to sell his legs for her to smack him on the head and call him a baka.

Both boys continued to drift, lost in their thoughts for a few minutes, until Duo noticed the clock. "...It's time."

**ooo**

The plan was very simple. All she had to do was stand there. Stoic Man would talk to Mr. Emperor, and when her friends were released she would snag them and they would make for the Peace Milion. She had a gun, but all she had filled it with was rubber bullets. If she needed to Ashley would just use it to spook the perpetrator off. Nice, easy, safe. The other pilots would be their cover fire if they needed it over by the docks on the abandoned colony to zoom them back via gundam.

Still, she was nervous. She could not walk very well yet. It had turned out Chen's dagger had been tipped with a sort of neurotoxin that had caused a temporary paralysis. After three days in the chair she had been upgraded to her pair of crutches, which she could hustle in pretty well. With the other two girls along, too...she shook her head. Everything would be fine, she thought and shook herself to try and rid herself of some of that worry.

She blinked as she felt a hand on her shoulder and glanced over at Wufei, whom was gently squeezing her shoulder, wordless. She had been quite surprised in him since she had wheeled into the cafeteria and announced she would accompany Heero personally. He had not protested at all...perhaps he understood? Bah, what was she thinking? That otoko? He did not even understand the function of a bra without explanation. But still, she reached a hand up and placed it atop his as they docked with the colony ship.

Somewhat reluctantly she exited Nataku and quickly found Heero. The other four pilots remained by where they had docked, though Quatre and Duo had protested immensely to that. But even though Quatre usually had the final say as to what the plan was, Heero had taken charge and overruled him with fervor. He knew the 04 pilot was not capable of rational thought at the moment; any decision-making he would try to do could prove deadly, despite all his strategic command training and knowledge.

A woman can make strongest men weak, Heero thought with smirk as he and Ashley made their way into the heart of the colony. The area Chen had chosen held a good view of the outside docking area; he could plainly see the gundams, specifically the one he was after.

Once there the two saw the tall China-man standing with a katana at his side, very traditional. Ashley opened her mouth to speak, but Heero raised his hand to quiet her. She bit her tongue and resided herself to only glaring angrily while her mission accomplice spoke. "Shou Chen."

"I am he. And you, murderer?" The old man's voice was positively venomous. Hatred practically seeped from his pores with the look he gave Heero. "You are the pilot of that gundam?" His eyes flicked across Wing Zero.

Heero did not bother to follow his gaze, keeping his focus upon the emperor. "I pilot the zero."

"Now...you kept up your end of the bargain...I shall keep mine." He nodded to his right, and Ashley looked over, up and saw a pair of oriental soldiers that looked high in rank holding her friends, their hands clamped over the girls' mouths standing above them on a platform with no railing. It was at least fifty feet above them, thirty feet to the side.

"Kryss, Nicci!" she cried, her crutches making a sharp, unison click on the metal floor as she moved in their direction.

"Ah-ah!" he smirked, drawing his katana as he shouted up to the pair, his eyes focused on the object of his obsession, the killer of his wife, the man he had hunted. "Qian Liu, Ming Shao! KILL THEM!" he shouted wickedly, and obediently the pair shoved the squirming girls from the platform and had drawn their guns. "I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE! Angela, my love, THIS IS FOR YOU!" he screamed, his eyes wild as he rushed on the Japanese boy, clearing the distance surprisingly fast and making a neat cut across Heero's arm.

Ashley had gone zooming after her falling friends as soon as they had been shoved, and she flung herself forward, snatching Kryss just before she could splat on the metal floor, and from no where Mei had appeared and snagged Nicole, and just as the girls had hit the floor the colony erupted in gunfire.

Immedeiately Ashley and Mei were up, both drawing their weapons and Mei had opened fire. A pool of guards came filtering in around Chen, rushing on their former prisoners. Chen shouted with rage as he battled with Heero, whose gun had gone flying from a blow of the emperors. "MEI-LING! Do you betray ME!?" he screamed. "YOU HELP THE ALLY OF YOUR MOTHER'S KILLER!?"

"Dad, this has to stop, does that boy look like he would've been capable to fly a gundam that long ago? They're my FRIENDS, Dad, and I can't let you do this!" Mei hurled back, raising her weapon on her own father somewhat, shaking violently.

Ashley then pushed herself over on her crutches and pushed Mei back raising her own weapon, "Mei, don't! I'll take care of him! CHEN, put down your weapon or...OR I'LL FIRE!! AFTER WHAT YOU'VE DONE, I SHOULD KILL YOU!" She quaked with fear and rage. What if he found out about her fake bullets? She would have to keep up the act! Oh, gods...at that precise moment Chen had turned toward her, eyes blazing as Heero ran for his gun. Well, she had to pray this would scare him off, rubber bullet or no...and she pulled the trigger, and just as she did the crack of a real gunshot sounded, and the emperor staggered. Her eyes widened as red began to seep into the fabric of his white silk shirt, her body frozen. Did I shoot him? she thought. Maybe she had missed a bullet?! Oh gods...

Then came another shot seconds later, but not toward the emperor, who had just fallen and surely died. That bullet had met his heart... She shook herself free from her shocked state and whirled around and she understood. Standing around thirty feet back she saw Shou Hebi standing with the woman who had worn the black furs, Xi, both holding guns. A few feet back Mei stood, kneeling down now, holding her right shoulder and glaring back. An evil smile, twisted and sinister played on Hebi's lips. Her long black hair fell across her eyes somewhat...she was wickedly beautiful.

"Now, what have we here? It seems we've got my stepfather's murderer and his treacherous daughter, a kidnapper making deals with her victims' angry friend! An assassination conspiracy, how shocking! I think the media will be pleasantly surprised with such scandalous affairs! And to think the heroes of the war would stoop so low!" She laughed haughtily, lowering her gun. "Get them!"

On cue the ranking officers the late emperor had called Qian Liu and Ming Shao started forward with their ranks at their heels as more gunshots sounded.

Nicole and Kryss whirled and spotted the gundam pilots running in just a hair late, sadly, guns blazing. Under their cover the two began to help the injured Mei up and run toward them as Ashley took off on her crutches to Wufei. The imps had almost made it under the cover of Trowa as the man, Qian Liu, caught them and grabbed Mei's injured shoulder and squeezed.

The young girl's eyes widened in shock and pain, a tortured scream escaping her as his fingers dug into her wound, causing blood to run from it more freely, streaming down her arm. "LET ME GO! NO!!"

"MEIMEI!!" Kryss cried, trying to pull the tall man off of her, clawing at his face and arms, punching him in a street fighter's manner, brunette buddy doing much the same, pulling at the tight bun in his hair as more warriors came running toward them and Qian Liu snaked his other arm around the girl's waist and pulled away from her desperate friends.

Hampering them further came Trowa who pulled the two back under the cover of Wufei's fire. The short girls fought and kicked, screaming for their friend as the male general disappeared among the Beijing's fighters as Ming Shao called for a retreat, and before long both sides had cleared away, Chen's betrayed form lying cold on the ground with those the gundam pilots had left to join him in the afterlife.

**ooo**

Once they had regrouped upon the Peace Milion, packed into the medical bay. Their recovered impish friends were having their numerous bruises and cuts tended and disinfected after they had been allowed a long, hot shower and a change of clothes in their rooms. A mere three hours had gone by, and Ashley sat heavily in a chair by Kryss' bedside with Wufei crouched on the floor, trying to talk to her, but it was much like talking to a wall.

Duo and Quatre were clucking after the imp girls like mother hens, and both had clung to them and Quatre had cried a little, and Duo had fought his own tears back with whoops and shouts of joy. Heero and Trowa had even given their impish comrades hugs of welcome, along with a handshake from Wufei for each girl before he clucked after his onna.

Nick and Anna had come bursting in with Relena and Zechs on their heels not long after they had piled into the medical room, the doctors quite thoroughly bothered with all crowd, though they said nothing. They feared being shot. Nick had just begun trying to siphon information about what happened to Mei from the group as the small TV sitting on the counter began to blare typical news channel music and shout about a special bulletin, quieting the lot to listen as the anchor man on the television with a non-symmetrical head and a funny tie began to speak.

"Just a few hours ago it has been reported that satellite feed from an abandoned Neo-Brazil colony has picked up the signs of a skirmish and the assassination of the emperor Shou Chen, a respected aristocrat among the Federation."

A video began to play, showing only Ashley, her squeeze on the trigger, the flight of a bullet, and the fall of Chen as the man continued. "It has been gathered that the emperor's daughter Shou Mei-Ling had kidnapped two members of the Peace Milion's crew. Evidence has been found of conspiring among the girl shown in the tape, Ashley-Lynn Smith (also a Peace Milion crew member) and Princess Shou. The police have theorized that Shou Mei-Ling used the kidnapped crewmembers to bribe the officers of the Peace Milion into an assassination upon her father. Her step-sister, Shou Hebi, a respected politician shared with one of our reporters after contacting her that she always suspected Mei-Ling to be jealous of her popularity in society. Shou Mei-Ling has been taken into custody and will be put to trial on a count of conspiracy and murder in the first degree. The actual assassinator of Emperor Shou, Ashley-Lynn Smith, has eluded capture. Well, for now that's all, I'm Lance Harrold saying-,"

Nick had clicked off the television, following it up by a strangled cry of, "FUCK!" as he stormed out the room while Ashley paled considerabley, then fainted where she sat, slumping over into Wufei's arms.

**ooo**

oo;;; Dude, that's just so...ahhhh. I feel evil. XD R&R, preeease! Oo;;


	18. For the Best

--Misplaced in Space - Chapter 18; For the Best--

Mei had been watching the report and grumbled irritably as she watched the doctored satellite footage play. How could Hebi do this? How could Qian Liu and Ming Shao help her? With a strangled scream she whirled around and delivered a mighty kick into a tray of prison rations collecting assorted molds and bacteria, which in turn skidded across the stone floor and upturned upon the barred gate. Mild satisfaction coursed through her as the tray's unscrupulous contents flew in a rotted spray between the bars. The disgruntled cellmates cohabitating the area with Mei were effectively coated in the ghastly stuff, which only furthered her personal fulfillment. However, a nasty urge to retch up cocktail weenies from days before haunted her as rats came to feast upon the upturned rations.

"Ew…"

"Now, why you so up in a tiss, chile?" The voice came from the cell opposite her own, deep and warm with strains of the south rumbling vibrantly through it. She looked up to identify the speaker, a beastly large man that had to at least be in his forties. His face was set with a few laugh lines, his skin a milk chocolate or cappuccino color; his hair bleached a shocking white and combed out like foam to top him off. Adorning his ears were lady's earrings, hoops, beads, and the like, a pearl necklace encasing his throat as he sported the same day-glow orange prison jumpsuit that she did. As he crossed the threshold of his cell he jingled with numerous bracelets and bangles in startling metallic colors that clashed so very badly with the jailhouse attire that Mei-Ling wished only to shut her eyes and make the fashion catastrophe disappear.

The young princess blinked at him a moment before answering his query. "Framed, set up for a crime I didn't commit. So, who the hell are you?"

The man smiled warmly, "Ah'm Sashanku, from a tribe uh lil' Neo-Africa city-state colony. You can call me Sasha doh, chile."

"Ah, right…" she smiled politely, though it was maddeningly difficult to pick through this 'Sasha's' heavy accent to find the English language. "Nice to meet you, Mr…Sasha. So…as cliché and jailhouse-rock as it sounds, what are you in for, Mr. Sasha?"

The chocolate Stay-Puft Marshmellow Man-like fellow smiled again, making the lines in his face all the more apparent, but making his entire massive frame seem less intimidating. "Now y'all cut that 'mistah' stuff, chile. Ah'm a-locked up 'count o' bustin' a man up." He frowned. "Man tried to cheat me out o' mah money, wuz fake money he wuz usin'. He got locked up, too, for the fake money, but I bust him up powerful bad."

She gave the man another appraising look. Yes, despite the tacky women's jewelry he wore, he looked as though he could do quite a lot of damage, if so provoked. "What was the money for? Do you own a shop?"

He noddd , his chest puffing out with pride. "An' it's the best shop in space."

"Really? What do you sell?" she inquired. Yes, keep the big man talking and she knew for sure he would not be able to barrel through his bars and attempt to mangle her for what was passing for soup that had splattered his shoes. Though he had not seemed to notice as of yet. Perhaps he thought it to be a fashion statement?

This fellow needed a lesson in good taste if he intended on wearing women's anything.

"Oh, this an' that, chile, all sorts o' things. Clothes, salvaged ship parts, even mobile suit parts, you bet. Got food, too, lotsa folks work there, too! Mostleh family an' all, but some other folks, too." Sasha grinned from ear to ear, his eyes twinkling like those of a child upon Christmas morning. "Right presenting mah muddah is runnin' the place. She's a real good lady."

"Oh, wow." Glancing here and there the cell, Mei tried to ignore the scrabbling of rat feet, while extending half-attention to Sasha out of sheer societal protocol.

There had to be a way out of this place.

**ooo**

Nick felt as though he was losing his mind, his profound concern for Shou Mei-Ling was positively exhausting. Following the newscast, the young man had gone on a lovely tirade chock full of stormy curses, anger, and broken objects (or what little he was capable of breaking with his flimsy muscles. He was a bean pole.). Directly following that, he retreated to his room for a bout of sobs and tears.

Now he laid in his bed, the door bottled shut and music blaring from his computer speakers to drown out any sounds he made. He did not want the girls' sympathy. Not right now. If one of them felt sorry for him, his psyche would shatter right now. He propped his lower body on his side, his upper body resting on a large mound of pillows he had fashioned into a sort of mock Greek couch. His head rested on its side in the brook of his arms. He sniffled a bit, his eyes puffy and red from sobs. He felt somewhat comforted by the music and privacy, but there was not much that could be done for his state of mind.

Underneath he felt so…so innately awful; his emotions swirled in a raging torrent. He pressed his hands to his face and took in a deep, shaking breath, murmuring into the fabric of his pillows, "Mei…"

Outside, his conscious female companions congregated at his door. They now could hear nothing, save his pounding music. For a while, none spoke, staring at their grieving friend's door.

"Poor Nick," Kryss broke the pained silence.

"Poor Ashy," Nicole added, thumbing back toward their unconscious friend's direction.

"Poor Mei," Anna sighed.

**ooo**

Hours later, once Ashley had regained consciousness, the Peace Milion crew had gathered in the conference room. Zechs and his younger sister stood side by side at the head of the table, looking very grave, equally grim faces staring back at them. Nick was certainly the most sour of them all, refusing to even look directly at the co-captains of the large vessel the Earth-bound teenagers had inhabited for the last…how long was it now, two, three months?

How, Zechs thought to himself, had this happened? The arrival of these Earth children had turned the entire ship upside down, and now…now the Peace Milion was in serious political jeopardy. Relena's political play was seriously damaged by the very idea that one of her crew members would do something so very treacherous, which automatically made Shou Hebi even more powerful in the polls, the everything. This was a serious triumph for Hebi, the snake, and now Zechs had had to make a very hard decision to keep both his new crew members safe, as well as his sister and the pilots.

Clearing his throat, Zechs looked over to his sister for her nod. She gave it.

So, out with it.

"…As you all know, we are trapped in a very…delicate situation. Ashley has been accused of something that we know she is not guilty of, but the fact remains that the overwhelming public believes the lie to be truth. Her continual presence upon this ship will brand the rest of us as criminals as well, despite her innocence, and will further endanger our status among the Federation groups. The Preventers will want nothing more to do with us, as we will look like the war-mongers." He raised his hand as Ashley opened her mouth to speak, worry and anger clear on her face. "We do not plan on abandoning you Ashley, but we cannot afford to let you remain here on this ship. Therefore, we propose this course of action. Relena?" He looked to his sister, strands of silvered hair falling over his eyes. Anna melted a little inside as he swept the hair back with a shake of his head. Hey, girls have hormones even in the midst of the most serious crisis.

The shorter girl's face was stern as she spoke the words that would be so hard for her new acquaintance to hear. It hurt her to do this, even though she and the Smith girl had not become at all close. She could not stand to cast people away, in any sense. "We have decided it would be best for Ashley to leave the Peace Milion until this whole situation blows over. We have arranged for her to be kept at the Winner Mansion for the time being, out of the line of fire. Quatre's houseguests are not likely to be questioned by the media. There, she will assume a new identity of her choosing, and the Maganacs and other servants residing there will assist her in assuming a disguise for the time being." She paused, allowing the plan to sink in. Glancing around she saw some surprise, some relief, and some anger.

Nick had finally joined the collective in reference to his attention, but his eyes still appeared distant. Perhaps he knew his friend would be alright where ever she went; it was no surprise that his concern lie for the girl from the Beijing, also being blamed for Hebi's heinous acts. The other girls were full of contempt, and all of the Gundam pilots were visibly on edge as well. All were expected and accept reactions.

Ashley's eyes, however, were the most unusual to catch. They glimmered with something like sadness, yet her face was set in a strong, determined look. She could only nod, and spat out softly, "It's for the best."

**ooo**

Okay, so that's the first update in a LOOOOOOOONG-ass time. BUT THERE IT IS!! I'm hoping I'll write more before this bout of update dwindles again. I hope someone out there is still reading this crap…oo;


	19. Starting Anew

I JUST HAD TO WRITE IT. They had to look pretty. And party. But that's not all. Muwahahahahhahahahaha!!!

**ooo**

--Misplaced in Space – Chapter Nineteen; Starting Anew--

Kryss and Nicole made a conscious decision that they were not going to let their friends pout like this before Ashley's departure. At the close of the meeting the day before they had watched Ashley and company troop out solemnly, the click-click of Ashley's crutches on the metal floors the only sound they had heard with the exception of a few yes and no grunts whenever conversation was attempted.

This could not stand. Their friend was about to leave the ship; she was being accused of murder…their Ashley.

The least they could do was party fucking hearty.

So the two imp girls trotted back and forth in the room Duo and Kryss shared in their underwear, clothing for the evening laid out on the black, silken sheets of the bed. Nicole hovered near the bathroom mirror putting in her contacts, while her blonde companion flipped idly through a brochure of the 04 colony, which they would be stopping at very soon for a 'supply run,' wherein they would sneak Ashley into the Winner Mansion and a brand-spanking new identity. After that, the girls would hijack their disguised friend and whomsoever had the balls to accompany them to one of the clubs in the brochure Kryss was perusing. Tonight, they seriously were beyond all the babysitting, the crime, the scandal. Escape was badly needed for everyone, for the sake of sanity.

It was with this in mind that Kryss put her finger upon the spot. "Elusion," she decidedly said aloud. "We're going to Club Elusion tonight, on 64th and main. 04's hot nightspot for those who need to get away 'n such. It boasts yummy things like a hot sushi bar, cheap drinks for those who need to marinate their troubles in alcohol, a live DJ spinning trance and techno. That's the place. It's even decorated in a get-away beach style!" She grinned cattishly, turning around the informative page to show pictures of a room with a definite raver feel, plus very realistic palm trees all over the place with lighted leaves.

"Awesome," the brunette grinned in agreement as she put her contact case in her bath stuff bag and walked around to her clothing, her eight ponytails bobbing as she walked, and her long bangs framing her face as brilliant purple streaks. She pulled on a loose, long-sleeved purple fishnet top over the black sports bra she wore, showing off the flat stomach she had gained in all her pilot training, while remaining somewhat modest. She added a purple and black plaid mini-skirt with many silver bells she had attached to the silver rings dangling from black straps on the skirt. She finished the look with purple and black striped knee socks and calf-high black boots with decadent furry trim, and then added a black velvet choker with a silver bell on it.

While she had dressed her cohort had slipped into a pair of very baggy, very black men's jeans with a crushed blue velvet belt that she had tied ragged blue ribbon bows to all around, the ends of the bows falling around her like a weeping willow to add a dramatic, personal flare. She also wore a periwinkle, blue, and black cheongsam tank top with intricate frog clasps at her throat and across her chest. She wore her hair was half-down in front, the back half tied up in a tight, elegant bun. With bright blue and black sneakers and a pair of sparkling fairy wings, she was all set.

The two grinned at each other happily and began to cackle manically. "This will be most fun," Nicole stated happily.

"Yes."

"Perhaps we should release the Bakagami, now that we are decent?" She gestured toward the closet, where the muffled sounds of Duo's protest had long ago ceased.

"Nah, he likes it in there."

"Are we sure he can breathe?"

"…Does it matter?"

"…Point."

More laughter.

Ashley could only have been more upset had she actually killed Shou Chen. Not only was she being hunted to be put on trial and most likely awarded a death penalty, she had to leave her friends, the pilots, everything she had come to call home ever since she had left to search for her lost friends. She could only speculate as to whether or not this path she had chosen was better than being cryogenically frozen while computers looked for another inhabitable planet. Regardless, right now she would have seriously considered choosing becoming a human Popsicle in favor of her current development.

Now she sat in a limousine, yet again, cruising through the streets of 04 toward Quatre's rather large home. She chose to ignore her imp friends, who were in entirely too good a mood for the present situation. What did they eat for breakfast anyway? She speculated that perhaps they had had more of Rashid, the Maganac's coffee and were feeling the high from it, hence the strange behavior. Though they were dressed up pretty spiffily for just seeing her off to her new home…and why the Kuroneko-sama backpack?

She blew out her cheeks in an exasperated manner. Why bother to analyze their behavior? They were both psychotic, in spite of rhyme or reason. She was not even going to begin wondering why Duo was still unconscious and had been dragged into the limo by Heero and Wufei by the girls' command.

Why bother anyway? This was not going to be her world anymore, at least not for who knew how long. It could take months, maybe even years to crack into Hebi's defenses. Proving her guilt would be near impossible, and with so much suspicion toward the Peace Milion, the cards were stacked against them.

She started to panic inwardly then. Months? Years? YEARS? How could she handle this? She was already going to have to play something she was not, an endeavor she was less than anticipating, and now… What about her family? What about her poor dogs? Were they worried about her? Did they need her? Were they chunks of ice now with only computer sensors to protect them?

How was she going to protect the people she loved playing the part of a maid or whatever in the Winner mansion? How in the name of God could she?

…But what else COULD she do? Her choices were impossibly limited, stuck between a rock and a hard place. This was her only choice for right now. Do what she could with what she had. It had worked up until now. Besides, she only had to play the part for guests in the house or when she went outside. Maybe she could make some new friends in the mansion. Maybe…

A tap on her shoulder interrupted her thoughts. Turning her head, she found her jade eyes meeting the blue-green of Quatre's. He blinked at the turmoil in her eyes, then smiled gently and patted her shoulder. "We're here."

**ooo**

The teenagers had thought the mansion was large at the costume ball, but when it was empty the place was positively enormous. The ceiling seemed to stretch up and up and up into eternity, the shimmering chandeliers like the distant suns of foreign planets, and the floors extended outward to meet impossibly far walls. Two stairways swooped downward around the entryway like embracing arms, leading up to a sort of overhang that stretched into hallways, which in turn branched into bedrooms and smaller hallways with more rooms. From the assembly's vantage there was a dining room beneath the overhang, centered perfectly betwixt the staircases. A long table stretched into the back of the room, which was trimmed with vases of delicate wildflowers upon its finished cherry wood top. A kitchen was likely tucked back behind the stairs and out of view, preventing obstruction in the dining area's immaculate presentation.

The visual tour abruptly halted as Quatre commanded their attention with a cheerful, "Welcome to my home…again, I suppose." He turned to face the group, a gentle smile playing at his lips. He enjoyed having company, sans reporters, cameras, and snooty noblemen he did not know terribly well. No elbow rubbing would be necessary with his guests tonight, and for that he was most grateful.

With that he turned and led the menagerie into a sort of den off to one side of the stairwells, furnished with neutral colors, tans and browns and whites with flecks of red and yellow here and there. There was a large corner piece sofa set off to one side, with a large lounge chair in the opposing corner, all tan and chocolate plush material. Ashley sullenly sunk into the large chair, and was surprised to find she literally did sink into the well-cushioned piece. Setting her crutches to one side she leaned back in the chair with a sigh. Well, perhaps she could handle this…

As the others made themselves comfortable, admiring the simple calming yellow of the walls and yet another chandelier, in came a tall, elderly man in khaki slacks and a royal blue polo shirt. He was balding with a sharp nose and triangular face, hardened with time. His eyes, however, contrasted against his chiseled face as a soothing hazel that twinkled with flecks of blue and purple.

However, mostly importantly, he looked like a somewhat darker-skinned Jeeves, namesake of the popular "Ask Jeeves" website.

The Earth-born trainees stared for a moment as Quatre introduced the man, "Everyone, I'd like you to meet my assistant and head caretaker here, Bernardo Pasquale. Bernardo, these are my friends from Earth I told you about, Nicole, Kryss, Anna, Nick, and this is Ashley," he rested gesturing toward the tall girl. "She'll be the one staying with us for awhile, my new 'sister.'" He smiled, looking toward Ashley.

That had snapped her attention from staring at the man Quatre called Bernardo. "S-sister?!" she stuttered, "Excuse me?"

The shorter boy ducked his head. "That is, if you want to be. You may pick your identity, but I figured it would be much more pleasant if you passed for my sister. No one would question one more relative of mine, and that way you can still intercept information directly if any guests happen to visit…and we do receive a lot of guests here, whether or not I'm away."

She could only blink. She had to admit, the idea was positively thrilling. Being a Winner, living here and still being able to get a slice of the action? It sounding pretty good, considering the alternative was damaging the Peace Milion's reputation irreparably, being caught by whatever brand of space police happened to be around, and finally, a gruesome death (and she was so young). Why not?

"Sure, as long as Jeeves is cool with it," she replied. There was no other alternative than to stay, so she should at least take a good deal when she could get it.

Bernardo raised his eyebrows. "Jeeves?"

Anna piped up, "Yeah, you know, the guy from 'Ask Jeeves!' You're his double!" It was so much easier to explain these things when someone else vocalized the collective's thought. Her impish friends and Nick nodded eagerly in agreement.

The caretaker looked a question to the head of house. " 'Ask Jeeves…?" The Arabian youth shrugged in response, leaving him to rub his forehead and simply smile out of politeness. "I have no qualms with your taking control of the house in Master Winner's absence."

"Okay…" she nodded and thought a moment, looking around at her friends. She would not be able to protect them now, Nicci, Kryss, Anna, Nick…but they would be all right with the G-pilots. They had to be.

"Okay, then call me…Vicci. Short for Victoria, of course." She smiled sweetly, though her face soured a bit as a small army of women with make up and hair supplies came flitting in behind Bernardo, whom she had decided would be affectionately know as "Jeeves."

And so, the makeover began.

**ooo**


	20. A Night to Remember

Alright, kiddies…this chapter has finally been written and is a step toward all the plot pieces falling together. I know everything has seemed utterly random up to this point, but I'm hoping this will start to tie a few things together. ;;

DISCLAIMER: (because it's that time, yet again) I don't own Heero Yuy! (Either of them!) You know the spiel.

Song lyrics in the middleish are from Beloved by VNV Nation. I threw them in because I felt they fit. And I like being random. Okay, I'll shut up now.

ENJOY! (I hope someone out there still reads and R&R's… AHEM.)

--Misplaced in Space – Chapter Twenty; A Night to Remember--

When Ashley emerged hours later, the Gundam pilots and Earthling teenagers unintentionally smeared shock all over their faces, inciting a smug look upon her face. This was so plainly not Ashley. Her hair had been cropped short and straightened, then dyed a shocking blonde to match Quatre's locks. Her eyes had changed to a soft aqua-blue color as opposed to her normal jade, and the clothes, the clothes… She wore a simple blue knee-length skirt with a white dress shirt and matching blue suit jacket. On her feet were harmonizing blue pumps that made the tall girl's appearance scream business, sophisticated, prissy.

Yes, the big bad onna herself had managed to pull it off; prissy. Oh, sweet irony, how cruel 'tis thou.

Ashley (AKA Vicci) was clearly still having trouble walking though, and soon returned to the cushy chair by which her crutches rested. Especially in those high-heeled shoes, her legs became gelatinous after too much walking about. As she sat there she received more collective stares of shock and surprise, particularly from Wufei. The Chinese boy edged toward her, a hand absentmindedly touching her hair. This hand he jerked back when he realized what he was doing and quickly evacuated the newly blonde girl's space.

This transformation in the Smith girl panged at Chang Wufei's heart. It was deeply rooted within his heritage, honor and justice and the like. Now, Ashley had been ultimately dishonored, framed for another's crime, and now had been forced to cut her hair and conceal her identity. It was shameful, in a sense, being forced to illegitimately hide who and what she was.

Below him Ashley was looking up at him curiously, watching the flow of emotions ripple across his face; sadness, anger, disgust, worry. What was Chang thinking? She could only shake her head, for she had not the slightest inclination as to his thoughts. One thing she was certain of, though; if she sat in this room full of people any longer after this massive change, she was going to break down. She did not want to have a break down in front of the Gundam pilots and her friends. With that she stood abruptly, too quickly for her weakened legs and almost fell backwards once more.

As she put her hands behind her to break the fall she found an arm around her waist, and followed the line of that arm up to Wufei's face. "E-erk, Oto…thank you, Otoko," she muttered, unable to muster the energy to be outraged.

"…I will see you to your room?" He had the decency to make it a question.

The tall girl, now almost a half inch taller than he with the high heels, nodded absent mindedly as the two turned, the onyx-haired boy picking up her crutches as they walked toward the stairway behind Bernardo (AKA Jeeves) toward her new bedroom.

Then, once she was finally behind the closed door of her bedroom, she could withhold no longer and let the tears flow freely.

**ooo**

Kryss, Nicole, Nick, and Anna whispered furiously in one corner of the den after Ashley and Wufei departed, the pilots milling aimlessly around the room. Duo and Heero were amusing themselves in front of the television screen, using the X-box their trainees had produced. The pair had discovered Halo 2 and began rapidly excelling in their kill rates.

"Omao o korousu!" the Japanese boy muttered as he successfully obliterated Duo's character with a grenade.

"Damn you, stoic boy!!" the braided wonder grumbled in return, and once he re-spawned went on a mad hunt for the 01 pilot's on-screen figure to destroy him in return. "I WILL win this damn game!!" Competitive much?

Trowa sat nearby, watching the screen with dulled interest, and Quatre had left the room to attend to some house matter. Thus, the group kept up their whispered conversation in the dark.

"What do you MEAN you won't come!?" Kryss sputtered, looking between Anna and Nick like they had both sprouted second heads. "Ashley deserves to have SOME fun before they lock her up in here all hours of the day, and we're all at the breaking point."

"Yeah!" her brunette partner in crime chimed in, "We just want to get out for a few hours, with Ashley in utter disguise of course. Nobody knows her voice, since the tape was soundless, so what's it going to hurt?" She stuck out her lower lip in a pouting fashion to mirror her impish friend. "So why won't you guys come?"

Nick held up his hands in attempt to cease the onslaught of impish blabber. "It's not that I don't WANT to come with you guys, I can't tonight!" His eyes flicked side to side a bit, twinkling as though he had something in mind. What was going on upstairs with that boy…? "I have errands to run!"

"Errands?" Kryss asked, just as Anna rushed in with her explanation.

"And I promised Zechs that I would stay in tonight. He said he has some stuff to show me, and I can't very well back out on the man. He'd hound the both of you guys AND me until eternity. Besides, look at it this way, I'll have him distracted, so he won't notice you're gone, right?" She blew out her cheeks in exasperation.

The short girls sighed and looked at each other, the back to their friends. "Okay, okay," Nicole relented, "We'll stop bugging you. But you guys know we didn't leave the mansion tonight if the boys ask, right?"

"Right," the 'siblings' responded in unison, nodding for emphasis.

**ooo **

As the impish duo approached Ashley's door they could hear soft voices within the room speaking and the occasionally sniff. Was someone crying in there? Cautiously Kryss knocked upon the oak door, taking a moment to admire the intricately carved cherubs and angels in the mahogany doorframe that wrapped about the oak.

Following her knock the sounds of footsteps could be heard and Wufei appeared in the open doorway, looking unusually calm and serene. "Imps," he said simply in greeting, nodding to each in turn. With that he looked back at Ashley, who stood with her back turned to the trio in front of a small mirror, calling in a conversation voice, "Is everything in order then?"

At that the blonde onna turned with a smile on her face, looked at Wufei gratefully and nodded. "Yes, thank you Wufei."

At that he nodded in return and excused himself as he brushed past the shorter girls and disappeared down the hall.

Nicole and Kryss stared at each other, their expressions clearly screaming, 'WHAT THE HELL?' as they turned their attention back to their friend. Her only response was a shrug and wistful look in her eyes that said everything and nothing simultaneously. With that she ushered her friends inside and closed the heavy door once more, offering a change of subject to avoid any interrogation. "What brings you shrimps about?"

She was pleased to see the pair puff up a bit at the term 'shrimp.' "Shrimp are tasty crustaceans for eating, not us!" Kryss grumbled as Nicole chose to ignore the stab at her height, thus launching into the explanation.

"We've made an executive decision that you need to have some fun before you get all locked up in here for who knows how long, playing Vicci home owner. Therefore, you must now get into your club attire and get ready for fun, because we are taking you out!" Her impish friend bobbed her head in agreement.

Before the older girl could protest the two were already rifling through her dresser and closet the maids had filled with her clothing. She sighed. At least this explained why they were dressed up, for once, instead of the usual plain randomness. She took minimal comfort in knowing there was some method to their madness.

**ooo**

Thirty minutes, three costume changes, one bogus claim to a sleepover in Ashley's room, and a climb down the fire escape later, the trio stood down the street from the mansion on the street corner, hailing for a taxi. Ashley had opted not to bring her crutches along, hence her companions wanted her to do as little walking as possible to save her from collapsing and strain. She had selected an adorable pale green tank top to wear over a long-sleeved white mesh shirt, along with very dark, dark denim pants. The legs of the pants flared out and fell so far that her feet were literally invisible, so no one could spy the simple white sneakers she wore to keep her feet comfortable. Temporary green streaks had been combed through her hair with Nicole's assistance, and the look was topped off with spiked bracelets and a spiked choker. At the last minute to further the cutesy punk look, she had pulled her short-cropped hair into two adorable pigtails with hair ties accented by jeweled spheres with portraits of Inu Yasha and Miroku painted on one pair, and Rock Lee and Naruto on the other set.

Once they had flagged down a taxi and given the driver their destination they sat together in giddy silence. Anticipation hung like a thick cloud. This would be the first time in months now that they would spend an evening out without the gundam pilots on their tails. No Gundam Wing, no pilots, no politics tonight.

They could not wait. Nothing could ruin this…or almost nothing.

**ooo**

Club Elusion literally bounced on the inside. There were people everywhere, on every level, dancing on the stairs, tables, and chairs, all over the place. The island getaway décor stretched to seascape murals on the walls, a night sky above, and even the occasional pool of water here and there with fake palm trees accented by lighted green leaves. Some people sat in bathing suits or less in these pools of water, some that acted as spas with jets and all.

Happy hardcore flitted merrily from the spinning DJ's capable tables, the flyers at the entrance declaring him to be called, 'DJ Seed.' Kryss noted his kitty-boy appearance and approved highly. He looked to have threads of Vietnamese in him, with long hair that fell to his chin and chunky black glasses. He wore large headphones half-on one ear over a black beanie with floppy cat ears that bounced as he danced and spun behind the turntables.

"I'll start to enjoy space more, if I can find more kitty-boys out here," Kryss murmured into her brunette cohort's ear, causing her to burst out in surprised laughter.

Before long Seed's beat swept up the girls, carrying them on the waves of the music. Life zeroed down into that pulse, that rhythm, and nothing else mattered while they danced. It is so very easy to forget every trouble, every problem, when dancing. It is as though the body becomes part of the music, weaving through it, into it, and before long there is nothing left of the physical conscious, only notes and measure.

That is in essence the beauty of music, being lost in the senses, which so often go ignored. Sight, smell, correctness and perfection are all that humanity sneaks in normal every day existence, but when lost in music the imperfect becomes perfect. That was perhaps why the girls became so in tune with their dancing so quickly; a need to forget, to justify existence, not with the floods of thought and battle and surviving that had become every day life, but by simply being. Club Elusion dripped with existence in its most primal sense, talking and gossip, idle chatter long forgotten by all patrons.

To be, forget it all, shove it down, nothing else matters…

Let it be.

**ooo**

Nick wandered the streets of 04 alone that night. The climate controls were turned down exceptionally low that evening, sending a brisk, artificial chill through his bones that vaguely reminded him of his home state Illinois. However, no cold could slow him down tonight; he was a man on a mission, and that mission was to help Mei-Ling in any way he could. Granted, he had no idea where she was imprisoned or how to properly initiate a jailbreak, but he had seen enough movies in his time that he had a few ideas. The old nail file in the cake, something along those lines.

_My beloved, do you know? _

_How many times I stared at clouds,_

_Thinking that I saw you there. _

Where could she be? Where could he begin to look?

Street signs in impossible neon colors lit his face has he pragmatically considered the locations he passed. Finally, his eyes fell upon an unlit sign, simple black and white with gold edging overhanging large double wooden doors. Two white globes of light sat on posts upon either side of the doors.

Police, read the sign. Why not? But how could he possibly get in there to obtain the information he needed? Amidst his pondering his ears picked up on very obnoxious snoring coming from one side of the short stairs that led toward the house doors. Sidestepping and bending over, the sandy-haired young man blinked upon sight of a somewhat hefty, tall man in a police uniform, lying placidly with a large, empty whiskey bottle in his hand against the stonewall holding the steps.

…How very convenient.

**ooo**

"Nicole and the others must be rubbing off on me," Nick muttered to himself a few minutes later as he strolled through the police station halls. He now wore a somewhat large police uniform (and if he recalled correctly, impersonating an officer was a very big no-no) over his clothing, his coat balled up into the stomach area of the uniform to make it fit somewhat better. He had suddenly become known as 'Officer Randolph,' and had gotten a few positive remarks that he must have lost weight as he came in, hat pulled low over his eyes, and did he have a cold, his voice sounded just a little bit odd.

Why, yes, as a matter of fact.

A few well-placed questions put him finally within a room brimming with filing cabinets, which in turn brimmed with assorted files and folders. After a few minutes of searching the assorted cabinets he had uncovered it; a folder within the records, a folder entitled 'Shou Mei-Ling.' A quick glimpse at its contents revealed a complete history of her newly established 'criminal profile,' which happily included a history of arrests and prison locations.

Jackpot.

**ooo**

Whenever Zechs called her specifically with that professional tone, it was never to be flirtatious or playful, which disappointed Anna considerably. This visit would probably consist of some choice shouting, not to mention complaints and discussing tactical information. The Marquis tended to call Anna frequently to his office for these 'brainstorming' sessions. She reasoned that he simply needed a new mind to add opinions, other than that of Relena. He trusted her, for the most part. She was not quite as rambunctious as her female Earth friends, though not as timid as Nick. She acted as a sort of median, a bridge that Zechs appreciated. She was able to juggle all of their very different personalities and help each where it suited them.

She shook her head, running a hand through her hair. Regardless of his reasoning, she was there now and would have to endure another of these strategy talks. Best to get it over with.

Pushing open the doors of the Winner conference room, Anan was surprised to find not only Zechs Marquis sitting at the head of the long table, but Relena Peacecraft, and even more surprisingly, Shou Hebi gathered around it. Beside Hebi sat her mother, Xi, and an empty seat beside Relena, which the girl patted dutifully, her eyes firm. _Do not say a word._

The girl closed her hanging jaw before a fly could swoop in, taking the seat the pacifist woman offered dutifully. What in the hell was going on? Last she checked, Hebi and Xi were quite aware that they had shot both Shou Chen and Mei-Ling in front of the entire Peace Milion crew, save Relena and Zechs, but undoubtedly they knew the siblings would know the truth of the matter. It was popular knowledge that the duo commanded the Peace Milion together now…was it not?

Nonetheless, the women sat before the small group looking utterly smug. Relena cleared her throat and spoke politely, "To what do we owe this visit?"

Hebi smiled devilishly, her dark eyes twinkling. "We are here to collect, of course."

"Collect?" Zechs raised his eyebrow. "Collect what, exactly?"

"Why, the murderer of my father, of course." She did not even flinch, her mother only nodding for emphasis. "I'm sure people of your command would never let such a traitor in among your ranks." What was this woman playing at? She knew they knew the truth!

…This was going to be a long night.

**ooo**

Seed's three hour set had finally ended, and some run-of-the-mill techno beat was playing while he packed up his vinyl and gave an enthusiastic hug and handshake to the next DJ with his crate of records, DJ Ermine. The girls watched this and the rest of the crowd from the bar at the sideline of the dance floor, bottles of water in hand. It was their first respite in the hours since they had arrived, and Ashley had to give the impish girls some credit. This was definitely what she needed tonight, not to simply be locked into solitude.

Even if they were fucking insane, she still had the most fantastic friends she could ever ask for.

In the midst of her contemplation, the tall young woman was suddenly aware of eyes upon her and shifted her gaze to her left, spying a man sitting on a bar stool, martini in hand. He looked middle-aged, tall, and Japanese in origin. His face was a gentle oval, his hair gone stark white, certainly not entirely from age, and he wore a pair of simple black slacks with a white dress shirt that was not tucked in. Black army boots and a black duster coat topped off his ensemble, though this older man's club attire looked more like clothing for the trenches of war; some very high-class trenches, for a pristine appearance as his.

She raised an eyebrow at the man, and he made no move to attempt to hide the fact that he had been staring at her. "Yo, you got a problem?" she asked after a few moments of simply staring back at him.

He only snorted in reply, taking a long swig from his martini before opening his chocolate brown eyes once more. Those eyes gleamed with a dark fire that set the girl somewhat off-kilter. The younger and shorter pair accompanying her began to notice her captured attention and took note of the man's appearance.

Nicole cracked her knuckles threateningly, looking past her friend to the stranger. "He giving you trouble…Vicci?" She had hesitated a moment, almost calling her friend by her given name. Almost endangering her safety. She had to remember that she was Victoria Winner now. Vicci. Right.

The man chortled at the brunette's bravado, setting down his glass and still staring back into Ashley's eyes. "No trouble, I'm just rather amused. Aren't you the risk taker?" That last portion he directed toward Ashley alone, and she knew it. Her colored eyes widened a smidgen before she collected herself and huffed, looking off toward the crowd once more. Ermine had begun to spin an aggressive industrial sound that was beginning to match her mood. This old man was starting to grate on her nerves.

"Crazy old lech, I have no idea what you're talking about." Yeah, play it cool, she told herself.

At that the man leaned over, whispering into her ear, "That's some way to talk to one of your friends' namesake, Ashley Lynn Smith."

Her blood went cold, fear causing her pulse to catch in her throat. She took a drink of water and swallowed hard, forcing herself to turn and look back at him, her nose almost bumping his. He was smiling maliciously.

"How do you know me?" she whispered slowly, attempting to pour as much outrage and power into her eyes as possible.

He leaned back lazily, looking as pleased as a cat with a mouse. "I know a lot of things, my dear. Just trust me when I say this; I've got my eye on you, and this won't be the last time we meet. I also will not turn you over. You don't need to worry about that."

"Then what the fuck are you doing here talking to me like this?! Trying to scare me, you shitbag?!?" she shouted back. Anger, yes, anger was what she needed. Anger took the edge off the terror. Anger was good.

"Let's just say I'm…curious." That secretive smile again. The girls were positively fuming.

"Who do you think you are?!" Kryss broke in, reaching past Ashley to grab the collar of the man's shirt. He stood abruptly and grabbed Kryss' wrist in return, twisting enough to incite a yelp of pain and wrench her off his clothing.

"Hey!! You're dead meat, Grandpa!" Nicole growled angrily and snatched her blonde companion out of his reach simultaneously with Ashley as the girl cradled her wrist and glared daggers back at him.

He only smoothed out his ruffled dress shirt and took a final gulp from his martini as he slid off the barstool. He turned to leave and paused a moment before turning back, having planned a suitable response. "I am a very alive man, I assure you of that. My name is Heero Yuy, and I will be watching." He burst out laughing as he watched the trio's jaws drop in a very cartoonish way. "You girls have fun now." He shook his head and turned, disappearing into the massive body of dancers.

**ooo**

…Eh-hehehehhe. Oo;; Okay, I dunno if you guys will hate me more or less after that chapter with very minimal gundam-pilot appearances. I promise I'll write them more next chapter, or at least try to! o. 

Anyhow, that's it for this chapter. :X I hope some things are starting to click in relation to what I have planned. But if not, then it'll be all the more fun when everything is fully revealed. :3 Bwahahahha!


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